Ideals of Darkness: A Pokémon White Nuzlocke
by KeybladeWar15
Summary: Based on my Nuzlocke run for Pokémon White. Join Hynden, a girl from Johto who aspires to be a great Pokémon trainer like her mother, on her perilous journey through the Unova region. Rated T for character deaths. After all, this is a Nuzlocke! Don't read or review if you don't like Nuzlocke challenges or an OC player character!
1. Our Story Begins!

**Author's Note:** This is a story based on my already completed Pokémon White Nuzlocke run. My character's name is Hynden (named after the person who voices Starfire and Princess Bubblegum). I couldn't pick a name, so I went with one of the first names I thought of. So, I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

It was an early September morning. As I awoke to the bright spring sunlight, I rubbed my gray eyes and looked at the calendar next to my bed. The 13th was circled and read "16th Birthday and Pokémon journey today!".

I eagerly hopped out of bed, brushed my mid-back length dark brown hair, put it in two low pigtails, and topped it off with my green and purple colored cap. After searching my closet, I put on my slightly baggy dark blue jeans, purple and magenta colored shirt with a Pokéball crested at the top, maroon colored sweatshirt, and mint colored sneakers.

I grabbed my silver shoulder-strap backpack with a gold colored Pokéball on it, and made my way to the door. When I opened it, however, I saw my friend Cheren standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, Hynden," Cheren greeted, "and happy birthday."

"Thanks, Cheren!" I said. "Are you ready to finally get your Pokémon?"

"As soon as Bianca gets here."

"I wonder what's keeping her?"

But then, the door burst open, and Bianca bolted into the room trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry sorry sorry!" Bianca said, frantically, "I didn't mean you keep you all waiting!"

"No need to apologize!" Cheren assured, "Just make sure to be more punctual next time!"

"Okay! Before we open the box, I think Hynden should get her Pokémon first, since it is her birthday!"

"Of course. It would only make sense after all!"

I walked over to my bedroom table, and lifted the pretty blue box cover with a green ribbon on it. Inside of the box were three Pokéballs. I closed my eyes and randomly picked one of the balls. The minute I pushed the center button on it, a small, orange and black colored pig-like creature came out of it.

"Hi there!" it greeted.

"Wow! A Tepig!" I shouted, excitedly. "You're so adorable!"

"Aww, thanks!" the Tepig replied. "What's your name?"

"I'm Hynden, and I'm gonna be your new trainer!"

"Cheren," whispered Bianca, "Why's Hynden talking to her Tepig?"

"I'm not sure," replied Cheren.

Just as I was getting to know my new Pokémon better, Bianca quickly walked up to me.

"So, Hynden," she said to me, "Do you wanna have a first Pokémon battle?"

"Sure thing!" I replied.

"Hold on a second," Cheren interrupted. "Bianca, don't you think it's a bad idea to have a Pokémon battle inside of someone's bedroom?"

"Oh, come on, Cheren!" Bianca assured, "Don't be such a party pooper! What's the worst that could happen?"

Bianca and I stood face-to-face with each other. She sent out her new Snivy as the first move. Instinctively, I sent out my Tepig.

"Snivy, use Tackle!" Bianca yelled. The attack gave my Tepig a bit of damage, but he looked like he was still ready to fight.

"Tepig, you use Tackle too!" I commanded. Tepig managed to knock Snivy against my lamp table, almost knocking it over.

Minutes later, Snivy was knocked onto the ground, defeated. Bianca returned Snivy to its Pokéball, and shook my hand as she remarked on how fun the battle was. However, I looked around my bedroom, only to see it nearly destroyed. I could feel my eyes grow to the size of dinner plates, but I quickly composed myself.

"Sorry about the mess, Hynden," Bianca said, "I could make up for it if you want!"

"No, it's fine," I sighed, "You guys don't have to do that."

"Alright, now it's my turn to battle you, Hynden," Cheren said. "But first, let me heal both yours and Bianca's Pokémon."

After my Tepig's wounds were healed, Cheren sent out his Oshawott. Knowing that Fire-types have the disadvantage against Water-types, I had to be very thorough with this battle.  
"Oshawott, use Tackle!" Cheren said.

"Tepig, dodge and use Tackle too!" I shouted.

Oshawott put up a pretty good fight, but my Tepig stayed strong. Suddenly, a burst of flame shot out of Tepig's mouth, and sent Oshawott flying against my wall. After falling to the ground, Oshawott was rendered unconscious.

"You make quite a worthy opponent, Hynden," Cheren said to me.

"Thanks man," I replied.

"Now if you'll excuse me, Bianca and I have to go apologize to your mother about the mess."

"Alright, I'll be down in a bit!"

The minute the door closed behind them, I rushed downstairs. I heard Cheren apologizing to my mom about the mess in my room, but she didn't seem to be very angry.

"Don't worry about the mess, kids," Mom said, "I'll have it cleaned in a jiffy!"

"Okay, then," Cheren and Bianca replied.

"Also, shouldn't you children be off to Professor Juniper's by now?"

"Yes, thank you! Excuse us, if you will."

When Cheren and Bianca were gone, I walked over to Blaze (my mom's Typhlosion) and Fergil (my dad's Feraligatr) to say hi.

"Hey guys," I greeted.

"Hello, Hynden," Blaze said to me, "Happy birthday to you!"

"Yeah, happy birthday, lass!" Fergil greeted me. "So how was your first official battle?"

"It was awesome!" I said.

"So what kind of starter did you choose?" Blaze asked.

"I chose a Fire-type. You know, in case I encounter any Steel-types?"

"Ha! I told you she'd chose a Fire-type! In your face, Lizard-lips!"

"Laugh it up, Fuzzy. I bet it won't be as much of a crank!" Fergil retorted.

"Whatever, Fergil," Blaze growled.

"Guys, come on, don't fight on my birthday," I insisted. "Besides, I hope one day to be as strong as my mom!"

"I'm sure Ritsu would love to hear that," Blaze said.

When I finished talking to Blaze and Fergil, my mom walked up to me. Her smile looked calm, but excited at the same time. She noticed my Tepig was a little hurt, so she gave him a Super Potion, and he felt better right away.

"Happy birthday, honey!" Mom said. "I see you've chosen a Tepig. It's so cute!"

"Thanks, Mom," I responded, "I just know Piko's going to be the best Tepig in the world!"

"Piko? You've already named it?"

"Yep, that's his name! By the way, where's Dad?"

"He had to step out for a minute, but he'll be back in time to see you off on your journey."

"Okay. What was the first day of _your_ Pokémon journey like?"

"Well, I got a Fire-type just like you did. I met your father on my first day of my journey. As a matter of fact, I bumped into him on my way back to New Bark Town from Cherrygrove City. I defeated him in my first battle, and he didn't take it very well. I told Professor Elm about him, and it turns out your father stole his starter Pokémon from the lab. Nico ended up keeping the starter, of course, and I ended up running into him more than once during my entire journey."

"What was Dad like when you met him?"

"He wasn't exactly the _nicest _person. In fact, he was quite the opposite. He didn't believe in treating his Pokémon nicely, but I eventually taught him some sense. And over the years, he stopped being as much of a jerk."

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"Anyway, before I start rambling on and on, here's your Xtransceiver! You'd best catch up with your friends before they leave without you!"

"Thanks, Mom! I'll see you before I head off, okay?"

"Wait," Mom said. "Before you go, I need to tell you something very important."

"W-What is it?"

"Lately, I've been hearing reports of Pokémon dying in battle instead of just fainting. They call it 'Nuzlocke Syndrome'. There's a chance it could happen to your team. I'm not saying all of them might die, but it's possible that some will. Promise me you'll be **extremely **careful, okay?"

"I-I promise I'll be careful, Mom," I told her.

"Okay, then. Don't worry too much about, though. You're a very strong girl, Hynden. I believe that you'll be the best trainer there ever was!"

"Thanks for believing in me, Mom."

"One more thing. Take this lucky necklace with you just in case!" Mom added as she handed me a necklace with a gold circle surrounded by a silver rim.

"Thanks. I'll be on my way now!"

"Alright. Bye Hynden!" Mom said as she waved goodbye to me.

* * *

**_Pokémon obtained:_** Piko the Tepig, Male, Calm nature, Loves to eat.

**_Deaths:_** None.

* * *

**Author's Note: **That's the end of the first part! If you guess who Hynden's parents are, then kudos to you! Hynden was actually born and raised in Johto, but moved to Unova 2 years before the start of her journey. Her parents have those names because that's what I named them in my other Pokémon game. Here are my Nuzlocke challenge rules:

1. Catch the first Pokémon you encounter in the wild. If you run or kill it, then you don't catch it at all! (Only exception is if you already have it, you can keep trying until you have a different one)

2. If a Pokémon faints in battle, it has died and you have to release it.

3. Nickname **EVERY **Pokémon you capture.

**P.S.:** I will try to make it a little more darker later on in the story (kind of like in Madoka where it was happy and cheery at first, but the rest of the series is much more terrifying). This _is_ a Nuzlocke story after all! Also, Hynden's necklace is supposed to be symbolic (heart of gold, soul of silver).


	2. So Long, Nuvema Town!

**Author's** **Note: **And here's chapter 2! Also, I just wanted to apologize for those rude author's notes (now erased) in the previous chapter. I was just feeling a bit angry because of some of the reviews on my other in-progress story. And another thing, I don't really like to see Bianca's Dad as a jerkass. So, I just made it how he is in the games and the anime: overprotective, but nice deep down. So with that, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

I hurried out of my house, worried that the whole "Nuzlocke Syndrome" thing that Mom was telling me about might happen to me on my journey. I stopped when I came across the town sign. It read " Nuvema Town, The Start of Something Big". There are a lot of days where I wish it would say "Olivine City, The Port with Sea Breezes", and I'd be surrounded by the aroma of sea water, the sound of the S.S. Aqua sailing off to Vermillion City, and the glimmering light of the Glitter Lighthouse. I hang my head and sigh, knowing that there's little chance of ever returning home to Johto. I feel a couple of tiny taps on my right ankle. I look down and see the tapping is coming from Piko.

"Are you okay, Hynden?" he asks me, "You seem really upset."

"Oh, I'm fine," I say hesitantly, "I'm just thinking about some things on my mind right now."

"Does that include what your mom said about the whole 'Nuzlocke' thing?"

"Well, partially. But come on, Piko! What are the odds of that actually happening? Truth is, I'm actually feeling a little homesick right now."

"Homesick? What's that mean?"

"It means I miss my old home back in a place called Johto. Even though I've been living in Unova for two years, I still can't help but want to go back to living in Olivine City."

"Don't worry, Hynden. I bet you'll like Unova! Besides, when you start your journey, we'll have lots of fun together!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right Piko. Who knows, maybe I'll meet some pretty awesome new Pokémon friends along the way!"

Suddenly, I heard a loud shouting noise coming from Bianca's house. I rushed through her open front door to see what was going on. When I got in, I saw Bianca getting scolded by her dad.

"No no no, absolutely not!" Bianca's dad yelled.

"But Daddy!" Bianca whined, "I'm a good Pokémon trainer! Why won't you let me go?"

"Because, it's not safe out there for a little girl like yourself!" Bianca's dad explained to her. "You might get hurt, or worse, even killed!"

"Daddy, I'll be fine!" Bianca yelled back as she ran out of the house. "You'll see!"

Not wanting to get involved with Bianca's "daddy issues", I quickly followed her to Professor Juniper's lab. After Cheren, Bianca, and I went in, Professor Juniper was right in front of us, waiting to greet us.

"I've been expecting you guys!" she greeted. "My name is Professor Juniper, and I study creatures called Pokémon. Have you guys received my box yet?"

"Yes, we have," Cheren answered calmly.

"Yep, Piko and I are ready to start our adventure!" I beamed.

"You've already named it?" Professor Juniper asked.

"Mm-Hmm!" I nodded.

"Well, judging by the amount of dust scratch marks on all three of you, I see you guys have just had your first battle! And, your Pokémon all look like they've come to like you guys!"

"Professor," Bianca asked, "What are those three devices on the counter over there?"

"Good thing you brought that up, Bianca!" Professor Juniper responded as she held up one of the devices. "This device is called a 'Pokédex'. It records the data of every Pokémon you guys will encounter! Which is why I'm asking you guys a request: Travel throughout the Unova region, and collect the data of as many Pokémon you guys encounter! Will you guys do that for me?"

"We won't let you down, Professor!" All three of us said together.

"Wonderful!" Professor Juniper beamed. "Here are your Pokédexes, and best wishes on your journeys!"

As soon as we left the lab, I noticed both of my parents standing outside of the lab entrance door. They were holding altogether three devices, one for each of us.

"Welcome back, Dad!" I greeted excitedly.

"It's good to see you, Hynden," Dad said to me, "and happy birthday."

"Thanks, Dad!" I said, smiling. "Are those Town Maps for us?"

"Yes, they are," Dad answered, "Your mother figured it would be a good idea to bring these along on your journey."

"I wouldn't want you to get lost while you traveled!" Mom added while handing each of us one map.

"We'll be sure to be careful!" I assured.

After I hugged my parents goodbye, they wished me good luck as I hurried off to meet with Bianca and Cheren at the beginning of Route 1.

"Did you tell her about the 'Nuzlocke Syndrome'?"

"Yes, I did."

"Will she be alright? Who knows what might happen to her out there."

"Nico, you and I both know that Hynden's a very strong girl. I'm a bit worried for her myself, but I'm sure she'll be fine on her own."

"I know. But Ritsu, what if she turns out to be as bad as I was on my journey back in Johto?"

"That was a very long time ago. I know our daughter's journey will be difficult, but I've got faith that she'll make it through."

"You'd better be right..."

* * *

_**Pokémon** **obtained:**_ None.

_**Deaths:**_ None.

* * *

**Author's Note: **That's the end of chapter 2! I wanted to do one of those Nuzlockes where the main character's parents are characters in a previous Pokémon game. The whole spin-offspring idea seemed pretty cool, so I went along with it! I guess with that, Stay tuned for Chapter 3!


	3. Liberate the Pokémon?

**Author's Note: **And so we move onto Accumula Town! I'm running out of ideas for Author's Notes, so they might get less and less during the story. So, enjoy Chapter 3!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

Once I caught up with Cheren and Bianca, the three of us stood in before the tall grass patches. I was about to ask why we weren't moving, but Cheren finally spoke.

"Bianca thought it would be a good idea to take the first steps of our journeys together," Cheren explained to me.

"Ready guys?" Bianca asked excitedly. "One, Two, Three!"

On the count of three, we all walked into the grass patches. We all said our temporary goodbyes to each other, then Cheren and Bianca walked off towards Accumula Town. I started heading in their same direction, but Piko and I were ambushed by a brown, cute, small, dog-like Pokémon. The wild Pokémon sunk its teeth into Piko, causing him to scream with pain. However, Piko managed to stay strong, and knock the creature to it's feet with a Tackle attack followed by an Ember attack. I quickly threw one of the Pokéballs that Dad gave me at the little guy. It shook three times before clicking shut.

"Feisty little guy..." I remarked.

I looked at my Pokédex to see that the Pokémon I had just caught was a Lillipup. I called out my new friend, and sprayed its attack wounds with the one Potion in my bag. The Lillipup then stood up, and barred its teeth.

"It's okay," I assured, "We don't want to hurt you."

"Yet," Piko added, slightly annoyed.

"Piko!" I scolded.

"Alright," the new recruit said, "What are your names?"

"Well, I'm Hynden, and this is my Tepig, Piko. What's yours?"

"They call me Chiro!" he said, excitedly.

"Okay, Chiro," I greeted, "It's nice to meet you!"

With our new Lillipup friend on the team, I hurried to Accumula Town to heal Piko and Chiro's wounds. When I got to the Pokémon Center door, I noticed Professor Juniper was waiting for me.

"Oh, Hynden!" Professor Juniper exclaimed, "There you are! I'd like to show you what Pokémon Centers are like here in Unova!"

When we went inside, I was truly amazed at what I saw. The Pokémon Centers in this region were slightly more advanced than the ones back home.

"You probably already know that your Pokémon can be healed. But, unlike the other regions, the Poké Marts are in the Pokémon Centers!" Professor Juniper explained.

"Wow," I said, awestruck.

As we walked to the healing counter, I saw Bianca right next to us. After I healed Piko and Chiro, Professor Juniper exited the building, and Bianca and I walked over to the Poké Mart counter.

"So Hynden, have you caught any new Pokémon yet?" Bianca asked.

"Yes, I have," I replied, "Come on out and introduce yourself, Chiro!"

Once Bianca laid eyes on Chiro, she declared him to be one of the most adorable things she had ever seen, like she did with most cute Pokémon. Chiro was about to formally introduce itself to Bianca, but I stopped him by saying that Bianca couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Well, Hynden," Bianca said as she left the Pokémon Center, "I hope I see you again soon!"

"Me too, Bianca!" I waved, "I'll see you again sometime!"

I walked out of the Pokémon Center a couple minutes later. But, a large crowd ahead of me managed to catch my eye. I made my way through the crowd to the front where I saw Cheren. As we looked at the people in front of us wearing strange white suits, a mysterious man with green hair went further up to the front.

"My name is Ghetsis of Team Plasma," the man said. "I would like to talk about 'Pokémon Liberation'."

Hearing those words, the crowd began to murmur. I looked at Cheren to see if he knew what Ghetsis meant, but he just looked just as confused.

"I bet you all believe that Pokémon are happy when they are allied alongside humans, right?" Ghetsis asked. "But, do you think they are _actually _happy? Do you ever consider that humans we humans only live in that state of self-delusion? Pokémon are subjected to the cruelty of humankind! In order to accomplish total salvation between humans and Pokémon is liberation! That is all I have to say, and I thank you for your attention"

The members of Team Plasma surrounded Ghetsis, and took off with him. Everyone in town was confused, debating whether or not Pokémon being liberated is the right thing to do. While I was talking to Cheren about this, an older looking boy wearing a black cap over his long tea green hair suddenly walked up to us.

"Your Pokémon..." the boy said," They were just speaking."

"Stop right there," Cheren said calmly, "What is this about Pokémon actually speaking? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard."

"They are talking," the boy retorted, "I guess a simpleton like yourself can't hear it. I am known as N."

"My name is Cheren, and this is my friend Hynden. Although we were asked to fill up the Pokédex, I plan on becoming Unova's next Champion."

"Is that so? Then that means you'll just seal your Pokémon away against their will. I'm a Trainer myself, but I wonder if Pokémon are truly happy that way. Answer me that, Hynden, and let me hear your Pokémon speak!"

N stood before me and sent out his first Pokémon. Looking at my Pokédex, I saw it was called a Purrloin. Knowing what to do in a sudden battle challenge like this, I called out Piko to fight. Purrloin attempted to use Scratch on Piko, but he jumped back at the last minute to use Tackle.

"Hynden, what's with this guy?" Piko asked me.

"I don't know, Piko," I said, "But I guess he's just looking for trouble! Quick, use Ember!"

After Piko managed to leave a nasty burn on Purrloin, he finished it off with another Tackle attack, and the Purrloin fainted instantly.

"I guess your stupid Purrloin just didn't stand a chance," Piko gloated to N.

"Hmm, I've never expected to hear a Pokémon say such a thing," N said, intrigued. "But answer me this, young Tepig, are you truly happy just being confined to a mere Pokéball?"

"What are you talking about?" Piko asked with a slightly annoyed tone in his voice.

"I'm talking about changing the world for Pokémon like you. I must save them because they are my friends. And to you, Hynden, I look forward to seeing you again."

With that statement, N left us in a state of mild confusion. Cheren didn't seem to be worried, so he told me he was going to Striaton City to battle his first Gym Leader. He said it was the best way to become stronger, and suggested I do the same.

"Just like Johto or any other region, Unova has eight Pokémon Gyms," Cheren explained. "Whenever you defeat them in battle, you obtain a badge. It's also a way to become stronger and stronger by each battle."

As Cheren walked away, I started walking in the same direction. Once I passed through Route 2, I finally saw my next destination on my journey up ahead: Striaton City.

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained:**_ Chiro the Lillipup, Male, Quirky nature, Strong willed.

**_Deaths:_** None.

* * *

**Author's Note: **We're getting closer to the first Gym Battle! Stay tuned for Chapter 4! (I'm getting bad at these Author's Notes...)


	4. Why Didn't I Listen? (VS Cress)

**Author's Note:** Okay, so much for less Author's Notes... (Maybe I'll just make them shorter Author's Notes instead of less Author's Notes) The very beginning of this chapter kind of reminds me of that scene in Legend of Korra where Mako first meets Asami. Enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

It wasn't a really that big, but Striaton City still looked kind of cool. Curious to see what the inside of the Gym looked like, I rushed up to the front entrance. Before I could even touch one of the door handles, I was knocked down the steps by a strange guy with wavy blue hair.

"Oh my, are you okay, Miss?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said rubbing my head, "I'm alright."

However when I looked at him, his eyes looked slightly widened, and his face was starting to turn bright red.

"Um, are you alright?" I asked.

"Y-Yes," he stuttered, "I'm fine."

"Okay..." I said, a little confused, "My name is Hynden!"

"My n-name is Cress," he responded, trying to compose himself, "I am one of the Gym Leaders at the Striaton Gym. Are you a new trainer in the city?"

"Yeah, I'm from Nuvema Town, but I lived in Johto for pretty much most of my life."

"Wow, someone from Johto," Cress said, smiling. "I-I hope to see you challenging the Striaton Gym sometime."

"Sounds great!" I exclaimed, shaking his hand, "But I think I'm going to check out the rest of the city first!"

"Well, I l-look forward to seeing you again, Hynden," Cress said, blushing even harder. "You look like a very lovely Trainer."

"Thanks, and bye!" I yelled as I ran off towards a place called the "Dreamyard".

"She's so wonderful..." Cress thought, smiling as his face was still red.

I trained Chiro and Piko in the Dreamyard for about an hour and a half. After we were done, we decided to go look at the rest of the city. Suddenly, we were ambushed another new Pokémon. I checked my Pokédex to see its name: Patrat. Without hesitation, I had Chiro use Bite on it, and I threw a Pokéball at it to catch it. After it stopped shaking, I let out the new recruit.

"Hey," it said, "What's the big idea, trappin' me like that?!"

"S-Sorry little guy," I apologized.

"Guy?! I'm a girl, numbskull!"

"Oops. And could you tone it down with the insults?!"

"Fine, Fine. If I'm gonna stay with ya, then you better be worth being my Trainer!"

"Well, you're rude. Anyway, I'm Hynden, and this is Piko and Chiro."

"Toothie's the name! Not very creative, I know. You seem alright, kid. You've got spunk, and I like that!"

"Welcome aboard, Toothie! We could always use a girl on the team, right boys?"

"Yeah..." Piko and Chiro said sounding displeased.

As we started walking again, Chiro and Piko suddenly tapped my ankle a few times before I finally looked at them.

"You know, Hynden," Chiro said, "I think that Cress guy has a crush on you."

"What?!" I exclaimed surprised, "That's ridiculous! Sure he seemed a bit weird, but how could you even tell whether or not he liked me that way?"

"It's pretty obvious, Hynden," Piko explained, "He had a lot of the signs: Dilated pupils..."

"Blushing hard..." Chiro added.

"Messing with his hair a little bit."

"And let's not forget a flushed appearance. Face it, Hynden. It was love at first sight."

"Aww, come on. I've only known him for a little bit, so that can't be possible!" I retorted, blushing a little bit.

"Whatever floats your boat, girl," Chiro said.

Before we could leave the Dreamyard, a young woman ran up to us holding a basket with a green monkey-like Pokémon in it.

"Excuse me, Miss," the woman asked, "Would you like a Pansage? I noticed you have a Tepig, and I thought this Pansage would come in handy for your Gym Battle since Cress uses a Water-type called Panpour."

"Gee, thanks!" I said.

"No problem!" the woman responded.

"You can call me Charlie, Miss," the Pansage said.

"Alright, nice to meet you Charlie. I'm Hynden."

"Nice to meet you, Hynden!"

When we reached Striaton City again, I instantly went into the Gym. The inside truly amazed me, because it looked restaurant themed. Hearing my stomach growl, I decided to order a quick meal. After I ate, I felt recharged and ready to fight. I walked up to the front of the Gym, and to my surprise, I saw Cress standing with two other boys, one with fiery red hair, and the other with spiky green hair.

"Well, I didn't expect _three _Gym Leaders..." I thought.

"Hynden," Cress said, appearing happy to see me, "Glad you could finally challenge us! These are my younger triplet brothers, Chili and Cilan."

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Hynden," Cilan said calmly.

"So, who'll you be battling?" Chili asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused, "I won't be battling all three of you?"

"Nope," Cilan said, "You'll be battling only one of us depending on your starter."

"The one of us you battle is the type your starter has a disadvantage to!" Chili explained.

"Well, that doesn't seem fair..." I thought. "I chose Tepig as a starter, so I guess I'll be battling..."

"Me," Cress said.

"Okay then, bring it on!" I exclaimed, ready to fight.

Cress sent out his first Pokémon, a Lillipup. I stopped to think for a minute, then I decided to send out Chiro. Lillipup kicked off the battle by using Work Up to make its Attack stronger.

"Chiro, use Bite!" I commanded.

Chiro sunk his teeth into Lillipup. It temporarily flinched in pain, but instantly got back up on its four feet.

"Lillipup, use Tackle!" Cress yelled.

Lillipup managed to knock Chiro on his back. Chiro got up wearily, so I sprayed him with a Potion, and he suddenly felt a bit more energized.

"Chiro, use Tackle too!" I exclaimed.

Chiro managed to hit Lillipup in the stomach, but Lillipup slowly got up. However, before Cress could give another command, Lillipup used Bite. However, it managed to unintentionally sink its teeth deep into the side of Chiro's body.

"Augh!" Chiro cried in agony.

Blood started to seep from his wound. I was mortified that what Mom said would come true. Chiro stood for a second, but finally collapsed to the ground. Panicking, I rushed to Chiro's side to see if he was alright.

"Chiro," I cried. "Are you okay?!"

"Sorry, Hynden," Chiro said faintly, "It looks like I'm not going to make it..."

"Don't say that!" I pleaded. "We'll just take you to the Pokémon Center, and you'll be fine!"

"No, Hynden. I've lost too much blood, and my lung is punctured. Don't worry... it wasn't your fault... I guess... it's just my time to go. You're the best trainer I've ever had. So... I guess this is goodbye... and I'm gonna miss you..."

Tears started flowing from my eyes as I slowly put my ear to Chiro's tiny chest, trying to listen for a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I found nothing. I leaned over Chiro's body and burst out in tears.

"No No No!" I wailed, "Chiro, you can't be dead! You just can't be!"

"What... have I done?!" the other Lillipup thought in horror. "I didn't mean to kill him!"

"Hynden," Cress said, sorrowfully, "I'm so sorry. I didn't think this would happen..."

"You don't have to apologize," I said, "It wasn't your fault Chiro died. It was mine."

"Hynden, don't say that!" Piko said, "It wasn't your fault."

"No, Piko," I said on the verge of tears, "I shouldn't have doubted what Mom said. If I didn't, I would have tried harder to save him, and Chiro'd still be alive."

"But..." Piko pleaded.

"Charlie, just finish the fight, and get it over with," I said.

"Alright," Charlie responded.

Charlie K.O.'d Lillipup right away. Cress reluctantly sent out his Panpour, but Charlie managed to make it faint with multiple Vine Whip attacks. The battle was over, but everyone in the room was silent. I shakily stood up to face the Striaton Trio.

"As a token of my apologies," Cress said somberly, "I present you with the Trio Badge."

"Thanks," I sniffed while wiping my eyes. "And don't be sorry, I'm not mad at you, just myself."

Once I claimed my first Gym Badge, I gathered up my Pokémon team, and slowly walked out of the Gym while carrying Chiro's lifeless body. In the Dreamyard, the Striaton Trio helped me arrange a small funeral and burial. On Chiro's gravestone, Piko singed the words "Here lies Chiro, the greatest Lillipup who ever lived". With a heavy heart and a huge feeling of regret, I thanked Cilan, Cress, and Chili for trying to help me, and left the Dreamyard with my team, not wanting to look back at Chiro's grave.

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained:**_ Toothie the Patrat, Female, Naughty nature, Somewhat vain.

Charlie the Pansage, Male, Modest nature, Likes to relax.

_**Deaths:**_ Chiro the Lillipup, Lvl. 6-11.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, I was pretty upset to lose Chiro on my first gym battle. He was so young! Anyways, in the beginning I changed it to bumping into Cress for a few reasons. I just think whichever Striaton Gym Leader you bump into should vary on the starter you choose, instead of just Cilan (don't get me wrong, I love Cilan). Next chapter will be the rest of the Striaton visit (meeting Fennel and facing Team Plasma for the first time).


	5. Fennel's Request

**Author's Note:** So here's the rest of the Striaton visit I promised! Toothie does act like kind of a brat, but she has her moments of kindess, even though she tries to hide it. Also, I've decided that the length of the Author's Notes will depend on the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

I sat down on a nearby bench. The silence between me and the team was bone chilling. I had no reason to speak or even smile. I did feel Toothie tapping me on my left thigh, but I just ignored her. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my thigh, and I had seen that Toothie had kicked me to get my attention. Rubbing my sore thigh, I reluctantly decided to listen to whatever it was she had to say to me.

"Listen, Hynden," Toothie said to me, "I'm not really the type of Patrat to say comforting things, but we just can't stand seeing you like this!"

"Well, you guys are just getting worried over nothing," I choked, "You shouldn't have to feel bad for such a pathetic trainer like me."

"See, it's that kind of talk that makes us worry about you!" Toothie snapped. "Look, for us, don't blame yourself for Chiro's death. Hynden, you're a good trainer, and including me, all three of us care about you! Before Chiro died, I even heard him say that his death wasn't your fault! Even he wouldn't want to see you like this!"

"...You guys... really care about me that much?"

"Of course! Don't you **ever** think otherwise, got it?"

"Thanks, Toothie," I sniffed while giving her a small hug.

"Hey Hey," Toothie said trying to push me away, "No huggies, got it? I don't do that stuff."

"Alright, guys! Let's get moving!" I said, regaining my confidence. "I remember Professor Juniper telling me to meet someone named Dr. Fennel. Let's go visit them!"

Before we could take another step, we were confronted by a woman with long, silky, black hair and glasses wearing a lab coat. I could only guess that this was the person the Professor was talking about.

"Are you Dr. Fennel?" I asked.

"Why yes, I am!" she responded, "But you can just call me 'Fennel'! I'm a friend of Juniper's, and I have a couple of things to give to you! But first, you need to come to the lab!"

I followed her into a large, white apartment-like building, and she guided me upstairs. Her lab was full of technology I hadn't seen before in my life.

"So this is my lab!" Fennel beamed, "Over there is my little sister and assistant, Amanita."

"Hi!" Amanita greeted.

"And this is my partner Pokémon, Munna," Fennel explained as I examined the floating pink Pokémon. "Hynden, I'd like to ask a request, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind. What's the request?"

"I need you to find a substance called Dream Mist. It's this kind of special sleeping mist that Munna and its evolved form Musharna give off. It's mostly found over in the Dreamyard."

"Oh... I guess I could do that..."

"What's wrong, Hynden? You seem a bit upset."

"Sorry, it's just that my Lillipup, Chiro, just died in my first gym battle, and we buried him over at the Dreamyard."

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay, it's not like you would've known about it. Anyways, I'll be back with that Dream Mist stuff in no time!"

"That's great to hear, Hynden! Oh, and before you leave, your mother sent me this package of Running Shoes and this technical move called Cut!"

"Cool! My very own pair of Running Shoes!" I beamed. "Well, I'll return with the Dream Mist!"

"Thanks, Hynden!" Fennel said as I ran out the door.

When I reached the Dreamyard, I stopped to stare at Chiro's grave. To the team's surprise, I didn't start to break down in tears. Instead, I decided to thank Chiro on how good a friend he's been, and that we'll never ever forget him. After walking past the little grave, we stopped when we came across a small tree blocking our path.

"I think I know why Fennel gave us the Cut move," I said. "Alright, who wants to learn it?"

"Oof!" Charlie grunted as Toothie pushed him forward, "Well, I guess I will."

"Great!" I said, "Mom told me how to teach a Pokémon a new move. All you have to do is listen to it on this TM/HM CD player for a couple of seconds, and then you learn it instantly!"

After listening to the CD, Charlie quickly slashed the tree down to size with his claws. With the tree gone, we were finally able to pass through. But, when I walked in, I saw Team Plasma torturing a poor defenseless Munna. I also saw Bianca standing there in horror, not sure what to do. Outraged, I stormed up there to protect the little Munna.

"Stop right there!" I yelled.

"Hynden!" Bianca exclaimed, "Thank Arceus you've come! Those people are abusing that poor little Munna, and I need your help!"

"Anytime, Bianca," I said. "And you! What do you think you're doing?!"

"For your information," the Plasma Grunt explained, "We are making this Munna expel Dream Mist so we can invade people's dreams, and make them release their Pokémon!"

"That's pretty hypocritical," Bianca pointed out, "Don't you use Pokémon too?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," the other Plasma Grunt admitted, "But, we're using them to help us free their friends, unlike you selfish Trainers!"

"That's..." Bianca started.

"...Dumb," I finished.

"Hmph, of course you two would think so," one Grunt said while sending out a Patrat, "But we know what we're doing. Patrat, attack them! They only want to hurt your friends!"

But, before Patrat could even touch us, it only managed to receive an Ember attack from Piko, a Vine Whip from Charlie, and a Bite from Toothie. Injured, the Patrat ran straight back to its master.

"I guess you're stronger than I thought, child," the Grunt said, impressed. "But, that only proves that you use your Pokémon for your own selfish benefits!"

"You do the same thi-"

"And, I believe you have the gravesite to prove it!" the Grunt exclaimed pointing to Chiro's grave. "People like you make me sick. Using Pokémon in battles, only to have them die before your very eyes. I bet you don't even care enough to even bother to protect-"

"**SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH**!" I screamed, socking the Grunt in the face.

As the Plasma Grunt ran a hand across his now bleeding mouth, he and the female Plasma Grunt fled from the scene. I just stood there, panting in anger with slightly teary eyes. Bianca stared at me, speechless, but surprised.

"Wow, Hynden," Bianca said, "I've never seen you so angry like that before. Also, I'm sorry about what happened to your Lillipup."

"It's fine, Bianca," I responded, calming down. "You take that Munna to the Pokémon Center as fast as you can, and I'll collect the Dream Mist."

"Right!" Bianca nodded.

Just as I was about to gently siphon the Mist from the Munna's tiny trunk, the same Mist suddenly started to flow right into the bottle. However, the mist wasn't coming from Munna. I turned around to see a similar-looking creature in the shadows, but it quickly fled. I could have sworn I heard it say something along the lines of "Thank you, Hynden-human".

"Was that Musharna?" Bianca asked.

"I think so," I replied, "Well, I got the Dream Mist, so I'll be heading back now!"

"Okay, I'll see you later!" Bianca said.

"Oh, thank you, Hynden!" Fennel exclaimed while holding the bottle of Dream Mist, "I couldn't have done this without you!"

"No problem, Fennel," I said. "Oh, yeah! I also saw a strange Pokémon that looked a little bit like your Munna, except it was a bit bigger."

"You must be talking about Musharna! That's Munna's evolved form. Did you really see it?"

"Yes. It gave me the Dream Mist because Munna was injured by Team Plasma."

"What?! Those monsters! How could they just attack a poor little Munna like that?"

"They wanted the Dream Mist for themselves so they could control our dreams to make us release our Pokémon."

"That's just not right, though! They had no right to harass that Munna, and for such a foolish reason!"

"Well, I managed to get rid of them. Bianca ended up catching the Munna, and she's nursing it back to health."

"Okay, that's good to hear. And, if I'm correct, your next destination should be a place called Nacrene City. It's just out of the city, and through the forest!"

"Thanks, Fennel!" I said, running out of the room.

"Take care, Hynden!" Fennel said.

Once I left Fennel and Amanita's house, I ran towards the city exit in Striaton Park. Although I was feeling excited to get my next badge, I knew that I had to be cautious with my battles, or otherwise risk losing another teammate.

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained**_**_:_ **None.

_**Deaths:**_ None.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I guess that Plasma Grunt was stupid enough to taunt Hynden like that! Hynden's cheery and determined like her mother, but can also be a bit aggressive like her father. Stay tuned for chapter 6!


	6. On the road to Nacrene City!

**Author's Note: **For all of the Kanto Pokémon fans, does the chapter title sound familiar? Normally, it takes me about ten or more minutes to think of a chapter title, but I thought of one of the old Pokémon songs, and I decided to use that.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

"So, which way are we going again?" Charlie asked.

"According to my Town Map, Nacrene City should be down a path just across from this Pokémon Day Care and this Kindergarten."

"You think a Pokémon Day Care would be the _last_ thing next to a Kindergarten," Piko remarked.

"Who knows, maybe you guys will find a special someone, and you might want to pay a visit there," I teased.

"Eww!" All three of them said.

"Hynden, that's such a naughty thing to say!" Piko said. "Maybe that time might come someday, but right now, I don't wanna think about it."

"Ha! That lovey-dovey crap might happen to you guys, but not me!" Toothie gloated.

"Don't be too sure, Toothie," Charlie warned, "You might say that now, but one of these days, you just might find someone as obnoxious as you."

"Yeah yeah, keep talking bullcrap. But mark my words, it **WON'T **happen to me!"

"That's what they all say..."

Taking a break from walking, we decided to pay the Kindergarten a little visit. Some of the kids even challenged me to a few battles, and I won with no hassle. The little kids wanting to battle kind of reminded me of when I was a little girl.

Before I continued the path to Nacrene City, one of the Nursery Aides was nice enough to heal my team. In the nearby grass field, I saw a swarm of bird-like Pokémon that were called Pidove according to my Pokédex appearing to be pecking at something. At a closer glance, I saw that they were pecking at another Pidove. Horrified, I shooed the crowd of Pidove away, and gently picked up the tiny bird creature.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

"I think so..." the Pidove whispered. "I'm really hurt, can you please help me?"

"Yes, right away!" I vowed as I lightly pressed a Pokéball to its head.

I took the Pidove to the Kindergarten for the Nursery Aide to heal it. Once she gave it back to me, I thanked her and ran back outside.

"U-Um..." the Pidove stuttered, "T-Thanks for saving me."

"No problem!" I said, "Do you have a name?"

"Y-Yes," the Pidove whispered, "It's, um... Ruffle."

"What was that?" I asked, not hearing him."

"Um... my name is Ruffle..."

"Didn't quite catch that."

"M-My name is Ruffle! W-What's yours?"

"I'm Hynden! And this is Piko, Charlie, and Toothie."

"Nice to meet you guys."

After welcoming Ruffle to the team, we started to walk towards Nacrene City. Before we could even take a step, we were approached by Cheren.

"Hello there, Hynden," he greeted calmly, "I see you have the Trio Badge. We shall battle to see which one of us is stronger!"

Cheren sent out his newest Pokémon. Looking at my Pokédex, it said that it was called a Purrloin. It looked kind of cute for a Dark-type, but I knew not to underestimate it. Wanting to see what Ruffle could do, I decided to send him out.

"H-Hynden," Ruffle whimpered, "I, um, don't think that I can do this..."

"Don't be scared Ruffle!" I assured, "I promise I'll help you through it."

"Um, o-okay H-Hynden."

Cheren's Purrloin lunged out at Ruffle, but Ruffle quickly flew up to get out of range. For about a minute, Ruffle only dodged Purrloin's attacks instead of using attacks himself.

"What's the matter, feather-butt?" Purrloin taunted, "Are ya chicken?"

"N-No!" Ruffle retorted, nervously, "I'm not chicken!"

"Then prove it!"

"O-Okay, I will!"

Flapping his wings rapidly, Ruffle let out a strong burst of wind that managed to knock Purrloin into the trunk of a nearby tree. Purrloin lunged from the tree in an attempt to strike Ruffle with its sharp claws, but it only managed to scratch him a little bit as Ruffle smacked it with one of his wings. Cheren sent Purrloin back to its Pokéball, and was about to send out his next Pokémon. However, before he could, we were knocked down by a couple of Plasma Grunts. We saw Bianca and a little girl trying to run after them, but they ended up stopping.

"Cheren, Hynden!" Bianca cried, "Which way did those people go?!"

"They went straight that way," Cheren said, pointing toward a cave.

"What's with the rush?" I asked.

"T-Those meanies took my Pokémon!" the little girl choked as she started to cry.

"What?!" Cheren and I yelled, shocked. "That's horrible!"

"Don't worry, we'll get your Pokémon back!" Bianca assured, trying to calm her down.

"Hynden, we're going in after those Plasma Grunts," Cheren said. "Don't worry, Bianca, just leave it to us!"

"Thanks, guys!" Bianca exclaimed as she hugged Cheren, making him smile and blush.

"Oooh," I teased, "Someone's got a crush."

"Shut up," Cheren said, still blushing a bit, "We'd better hurry up and catch those Plasma Grunts."

We hurried into the cave, and found the Plasma Grunts that kidnapped the little girl's Pokémon.

"You people are such bothers," Cheren said, "What kind of sick person would take away a little girl's Pokémon?"

"The kind that are trying to save these Pokémon from a fate worse than death, which would be the cruel nature of a human!" the Plasma Grunt exclaimed.

"Yeah yeah yeah," I said, "We've already heard this."

"If you won't see the error of your ways, then we'll take your Pokémon by force!" the other Grunt said as he sent out his Patrat.

Toothie and Ruffle jumped ahead, looking ready to fight. The Patrat was quickly taken down by Toothie's Bite and Tackle attacks. After the Patrat was sent back to its Pokéball, we were confronted by two more Plasma Grunts. Cheren joined the battle to help me take both of them down at the same time. Ruffle volunteered to battle, saying how he wanted to take them down himself. After Cheren's Oshawott blasted one of the Patrat's with its Water Gun, and Ruffle rapidly attacked the other Patrat with his Gust attack. Finally admitting defeat, the Plasma Grunts gave us the stolen Pokémon, and ran off.

"Well, I'll take the Pokémon back to the little girl," Cheren sighed, "I'll see you again, Hynden."

"Okay, bye," I said.

As I started to leave the cave, I heard a wing flapping sound that was slowly getting closer and louder. The mysterious thing crashed into the wall, but finally flew up in front of me. It was panting hard, as if it were trying to keep up with us.

"Don't leave yet!" it said, "I want to talk to you first!"

"Hi there!" I said, "What kind of Pokémon are you?"

"I'm a Woobat! Listen, I saw you battling, and may I say that you were amazing!"

"Oh, thanks! Do you have a name?"

"Whatever you want to call me, that's gonna be my name!"

"Okay. Um, how do you like the name 'Marceline'"? I asked.

"Sounds cool! I love it!" Marceline beamed. "Can I come with you guys? You seem like really cool people!"

"Sure! I don't see why not!" I agreed. "Welcome to the team, Marceline!"

"That new girl is really nice," Ruffle whispered to Charlie and Piko as we exited the cave.

"Ruffle," Charlie asked, "Is your face turning pink?"

"Um, n-no!" Ruffle retorted. "W-What are you talking about?!"

"I think someone likes the new girl a lot!" Piko remarked.

"Y-Yes, b-but just as a friend!"

"Uh-huh, sure Ruffle," Piko and Charlie said, not convinced.

"I think I'm gonna like it here!" Marceline said, not unaware of what the others were saying.

* * *

_**Pokémon **__**obtained: **_Ruffle the Pidove, Male, Timid nature, Often lost in thought.

Marceline the Woobat, Female, Gentle nature, Capable of taking hits.

_**Deaths:**_ None.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I imagine that Ruffle's like Fluttershy, and Marceline's like a mix between her namesake and Mami Tomoe. Before joining the team, Ruffle had little to no confidence, always being the punching bag of his flock. When Hynden saved him, he saw being caught as an opportunity of becoming less of a scaredy-cat.


	7. New Recruits and New Bonds!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

We finally spotted the Nacrene City gate. Excited to see what the city looked like, I ran straight ahead, with the team trying to keep up with me. Suddenly, I felt the bottom of my shirt being tugged. I stopped and saw a girl with her Woobat.

"Hey you there!" she said, "My name's Marsha, and I see you've got Pokémon! I wanna see what they can do, so battle me!"

"Alright," I responded, holding Marceline's Pokéball, "You're on!"

"Wait a second, Hynden," Charlie said stopping me, "I wanna take her on. I haven't been battling recently."

"You sure, Charlie? My Pokédex says that Woobat is part Flying-type. You might get killed!"

"I'll be fine. Besides, who's the one who easily took down Cress' Panpour with no hassle?"

"Oh alright. But you'd better know what you're doing."

"Trust me, I can do it."

Charlie kicked the battle off with a single Vine Whip attack. Woobat then responded with a Confusion attack. Clutching his head in pain, Charlie managed to use Lick to try and paralyze Woobat. Woobat fell to the ground, but it instantly got up. Charlie leaped to finish Woobat off with a Scratch attack, but Woobat suddenly summoned a strong Gust attack to the center of Charlie's neck. A large swirl of blood splattered everywhere, and I just stood there in horror as Charlie's headless body fell to the ground.

"Charlie!" the team and I shouted, running to his side.

"Well, I guess that settles that," Marsha gloated, coldly. "I actually pity your Pokémon for having such a trainer that lacks skill."

"Marceline..." I said, infuriated, "Show them what a Woobat can really do!"

Marceline didn't even hesitate to attack the other Woobat. She repeated using Assurance until the Woobat tearfully gave up. I angrily grabbed Marsha by the collar of her neck and tossed her over the fence and into the pond. She flapped around in the water until she managed to grab the edge of the bridge. Holding Charlie's body and head in one of my arms, I turned to face Marsha with a dark expression.

"Actually Marsha," I said, with a dark tone, "If anyone's the weak trainer here, it's you. If I ever see your worthless face again, you won't like what I do, got it?!"

"Y-Yes! Just get away from me!" Marsha screamed.

"Good," I responded as I walked away. "Come on guys, we're out of here."

On the other side of the bridge, I found a little spot near a bunch of trees. I dug a hole for Charlie's grave, sticking his head onto his body. After the team and I paid our respects, we walked to Nacrene City. Nacrene City didn't really look like much of a city, it looked more like a small town. Cheren seemed to have seen me, and walked over.

"Are you alright, Hynden?" Cheren asked, "You seem very upset."

"I lost another Pokémon, Cheren," I responded, "My Pansage was just killed in battle."

"I'm so sorry about that."

"I also lost my Lillipup back in Striaton, but I'm not going to wallow in self-pity."

"Well, as a 'Cheer-Up gift', I'll just give you these Chesto Berries. Not many Berries grow here in Unova, so I was lucky to find them."

"Thanks, Cheren. Also, do you know where the Pokémon Center is? All I'm seeing is a bunch of buildings that look the same!"

"Ah, yes, I do. It's down that way, you can't miss it."

"Thanks!" I said, "Good luck with your journey!"

"Same to you, Hynden!" Cheren replied.

After I healed the team, I made a reservation so that we could finally get some rest. In my Pokémon Center room, I stared at the ceiling with only my haunting memories clouding my mind. Piko nuzzled my arm, trying to cheer me up.

"Some birthday this has been, huh?" I asked, glumly.

"Hynden," Piko said, "This is only the beginning of the journey. It'll get better, I promise."

"You'd better be right," I replied.

The next morning, we left the Pokémon Center to browse the town a little bit. I read a sign that read "Cafe Wearhouse", and it sounded like a good place to get some breakfast. I ordered food for both me and the team since no one else in the building could speak to Pokémon. While I had an order of Pecha Berry waffles and a cup of tea, Piko and Marceline shared a large salad (Piko ate most of it) with bits of chopped Rawst Berries, Ruffle had 3 stacks of chocolate chip pancakes that were drizzled in syrup, and Toothie had some Tamato Berry noodle soup. Some of the other customers found it a little strange that a Trainer was ordering human Cafe food for their Pokémon, but I just ignored them. After we finished our food, the team and I left the Cafe.

"You think those people thought we were freaks or something?" Marceline asked.

"Don't worry about it," I assured, "As long as you guys enjoyed the food, that's all that matters. Besides, Piko eats that kind of food like no tomorrow."

"Hey!" Piko exclaimed, "I just like eating food, that's all!"

"And yet, you won't even touch spicy food," Toothie mocked. "Some Fire-type you are."

"Look, spicy food and my stomach don't exactly get along with each other," Piko explained, "The results aren't very pleasant."

"I'll take your word for it," Toothie said, slightly disgusted.

We decided to check out a place called Pinwheel Forest. I figured it'd be a good place to train before we challenged the Gym Leader.

"Why are you so worried about facing the Gym Leader?" Ruffle asked.

"Yeah, I heard Lenora's a Normal-type Gym Leader, so you should be able to take her down easily!" Marceline remarked.

"Actually, guys," I explained, "My mom told me to never ever underestimate a Normal-type Gym Leader."

"Why not?" Ruffle asked.

"She said that during her journey, she had some _pretty_ bad experiences with Whitney, the Normal-type Gym Leader of Goldenrod City back in Johto, and a certain Miltank of hers. So, it's probably a good idea to train a lot."

"Hynden's got a point," Toothie boasted, "After all, Normal-types aren't a force to be reckoned with. They _are _the best and strongest type of Pokémon ever."

"And then there's you, Toothie," Piko teased.

"Shut it, Porkbutt," Toothie said annoyed.

Deciding to train everyone, I started with Toothie since she's gotten the least amount of training. We encountered a small, blue Pokémon called Tympole. The small round things on the side of its face began vibrating, and released an ear-shattering noise that made me and Toothie cringe. Toothie was also hit with a Bubble attack. Angry, Toothie raised a small fist, but I told her to go easy on it so I could catch it. Toothie reluctantly used her newly-learned Hypnosis move, and the little Tympole fell asleep. I tapped the sleeping Pokémon with a Pokéball, and it was instantly caught. I let the our new teammate out, and she woke up right away.

"Hey!" it exclaimed, "Why'd you just up and take me like that?!"

"Sorry," I apologized, "I didn't mean to do that. I just thought that we could use a new friend."

"Well, if you wanted to capture me, you could have asked first!"

"You attacked us!" Toothie yelled. "We had to get you to stop somehow!"

"Oh," the Tympole said, guiltily, "Well, I'm sorry about that."

"Don't sweat it," I assured. "Do you have a name?"

"Well, who doesn't?" the Tympole asked, "My name is Eliza, and I'm gonna be the best Tympole there ever was!"

"I have always wanted a Water-type," I said, "Since I was born and raised near the sea."

"Even better!" Eliza exclaimed.

The whole day consisted of Toothie, Marceline, Ruffle, Eliza, and Piko taking down a bunch of Pidove and some Pokémon called Timburr. We moved to another, yet darker-colored grass area. Suddenly, two Pokémon called Throh tried to attack us. They managed to defeat everyone, and eventually cornered me. Awaiting the worst, I closed my eyes. When I didn't feel any pain, I opened my eyes to see a tall and slender figure take down the two Throh, and they crashed to the ground. The figure turned around to face me, and it revealed to be a Pokémon.

"Thanks for saving us," I said. "What Pokémon are you?"

"I am known as a Sawk," it responded.

"A 'sock'? You mean like the ones people wear on their feet?"

"Haha, no. It is a fighting technique, kind of like a fierce punch."

"Oh. Well, do you have a name?"

"Yes, I am known around this area of the forest as Jackie. I have watched you train, and I have been shown that you are quite a powerful trainer. May I propose to train with you so I can become stronger?"

"I don't know, Jackie. With the way you took down those Throh, I think you're pretty strong on your own."

"Please! It would be an honor to train under the guise of you, honorable teacher!" Jackie pleaded as he hung his head while bowing.

"Well," I pondered, "I guess it couldn't hurt to have another teammate. Welcome aboard, Jackie!"

"Thank you very much, teacher!" Jackie exclaimed.

"Please, call me Hynden," I requested.

"Okay, thank you, Hynden!" Jackie said as he corrected himself.

"Wow, mister!" Eliza beamed, "You sure are strong!"

"Thank you, little one," Jackie replied, "I aim to get even stronger!"

"Really?" Eliza asked, "Me too! I'm Eliza!"

"My name is Jackie. You seem like a little girl that is full of potential!"

"Thanks, Jackie! I think we should be really good friends! You know, so we can train together and get stronger, and someday, I'm gonna be a really powerful Seismitoad!"

"And I hope to become very strong and nearly invincible!"

"Jackie, we're always gonna do this training thing together, right?"

"Yes, my dear friend Eliza. Always."

* * *

_**Pokémon **__**obtained: **_Eliza the Tympole, Female, Impish nature, Likes to thrash about.

Jackie the Sawk, Male, Sassy nature, Thoroughly cunning.

_**Deaths: **_Charlie the Pansage, Lvl. 10-12

* * *

**Author's Note:** Poor Charlie! He died such a gruesome death... What Marsha says in the game looked kind of rude since she just killed my Pansage. I may pull a few exceptions to the whole "one Pokémon per route" rule. I mean, come on! It was a Sawk! How rare can you possibly get? Anyway, I'm also going to count the inside part of Pinwheel Forest as another area. And, Jackie and Eliza have some kind of Big Brother/ Little Sister relationship (kind of like Equius and Nepeta). This song fits pretty well with them: youtube com watch?v=u0VbyYcljx8 .


	8. Throw the Book at them! (VS Lenora)

**Author's Note:** I think I'm going to use puns for the Gym battle titles. Also, regarding the evolution thing, the evolving effect will depend on what type they are (if it's a dual type, I'll choose which type to use). Enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

A month had passed, and it was now the beginning of summer. I always thought that seasons in Unova were strange for passing that quickly, but I'd always just try and disregard it. I was trying to make mostly Piko and Toothie strong enough to defeat Lenora so that I wouldn't risk getting anymore teammates killed. Toothie was being pinned down by a Timburr while trying to push it off. I watched in fear as Timburr raised its giant timber block, but my fears quickly withered as Toothie snatched the timber block from the Timburr.

"Nice try, dumbass," Toothie mocked.

Toothie swung the timber into Timburr's face, knocking him out. I leaned my head toward its mouth, and was relieved to hear it was still breathing. I congratulated Toothie on outsmarting Timburr, and she smiled proudly. Suddenly, a bright light started to surround Toothie's body. I noticed she grew up a few heights, and her buck tooth got slightly longer. When the light died down, my eyes widened as I found that Toothie looked completely different.

"T-Toothie," I said, "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, Hynden!" Toothie replied, "Only I'm just new and improved!"

"You finally evolved!" I exclaimed, excited.

"Yep! And now, I'm a Watchog!"

"Do you think we're ready to take on the Nacrene Gym yet?" Eliza asked.

"Well..." I said, hesitantly.

"Pleeeease?" the team pleaded.

"Okay," I responded, "After I buy some Super Potions and Great Balls, we'll go challenge Lenora."

"Awesome!" Eliza exclaimed.

After buying all of the necessary things for the Gym battle, we rushed to the Gym entrance. However, I was knocked down by N.

"Oww," I groaned, rubbing my head, "What is it with me and getting knocked down whenever I try and run into Gyms?"

"Greetings, Hynden," N greeted, "Fancy 'bumping' into you."

"Haha, very funny. Anyways, what are you even doing here at the Nacrene Gym?"

"I only seek the truth."

"Um, the truth of what?"

"The truth of a Pokémon's captivity inside a Pokéball, and the ideals of Trainers themselves! I wish to seek the ultimate salvation for the Pokémon! Do you see what I'm saying, Hynden?"

"I think so," I said, questioningly.

"You sound quite unsure," N said, sending forth his Pidove, "Then I guess I'll have to make you certain!"

Ruffle quickly flew into the battle scene. The other Pidove gave Ruffle a menacing Leer, causing Ruffle to flinch a bit. Even though he was a little intimidated, Ruffle quickly used Air Cutter, instantly knocking out Pidove. As Ruffle was flapping his wings with joy, he was suddenly surrounded by bright, fast-moving light beams that resembled bird feathers. Ruffle's wings grew larger, his legs got longer, and he seemed to grow some bulkier feathers on his head. According to my Pokédex, Ruffle was now a Pokémon called Tranquill.

"Wow, Ruffle!" Marceline exclaimed as she flew close to Ruffle's face, "You're all grown up now!"

"Hehe, I guess so," Ruffle chuckled, blushing. "It's so nice of you to notice, Marceline."

"W-Well, how could I not?" Marceline said, blushing.

"Anyways, I need to get back to this battle," Ruffle said. "Alright green-haired guy! Send out your next Pokémon!"

N called his Timburr and Tympole forward at the same time. With his new-found confidence, Ruffle easily took both Pokémon down with an Air Cutter attack.

"I guess I've got a long way to go," N said, walking away. "What I truly need to make my ideals come true is power! But not just any power will do. I need the power of the mighty Reshiram!"

"...What was that about?" I asked, "And what's this 'Reshiram' thing he's talking about?"

"Reshiram is one of the legendary Tao trio," Piko explained.

"They're also sometimes called the 'Energy trio'," Marceline added.

"So, this region has a legendary trio too, huh?" I asked. "When I was little, I used to read all about Johto's Legendary Beasts in a storybook. I even remember Mom saying that she even came face to face with Suicune!"

"Really?" Marceline asked, "That's amazing!"

"Yeah. But, let's not focus on fairy tales right now. We've got a Gym battle with our name on it!"

When we got inside, I looked around with a confused expression. I asked one of the building admins if they knew where the Gym was. They told me that the Nacrene Museum is the Gym, and that the Gym part of it was in the back of the building. I noticed a giant Dragonite skeleton, and walked over with fascination. As I was looking at it, I was greeted by a dark-haired man wearing glasses.

"Hello," the man said, "My name is Hawes, and I'm the museum's assistant director. Allow me to give you a quick tour, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," I assured.

"Great!" Hawes responded.

Hawes spent nearly twelve minutes telling me about the many fossils and bones in the museum. The last stop was a large doorway that led to a large library. He told me that was the entrance to the Gym room.

"It just so happens that Lenora, this city's gym leader, is my wife!" Hawes beamed. "My dear Lenora is quite a strong Gym Leader, so be careful!"

As I entered the library, Clyde (the gym guide guy) explained to me that in order to find the secret switch to the battling room, I have to look in tons of books for hints. After he gave me an emergency Fresh Water, I began my search. The first book's question read "What was the first Pokémon you met in this Gym?". Knowing the answer, I searched the shelf behind it for the right book.

"Let's see," I pondered, "Pansage, Pansear, Paras, Parasect, Patrat!"

Once I skimmed through a book on Patrat biology, I was happy to find the next clue. It said "Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off smoke from its head while it runs. What is this book?"

"Sounds familiar," I said.

"It sounds like Piko whenever Toothie calls him 'Porkbutt'," Ruffle added.

"Yeah yeah," Piko said, slightly annoyed. "Maybe it's a book on Tepig?"

"It could be!" I said, "Let's go find it!"

I asked a nearby little girl if I could see her book for a little bit. I looked on the back of the book, but instead of a clue, I was shocked to find a note with a big, red "X" on it.

"I guess that's not the right answer," I said, giving the girl her book back.

"Yeah," the little girl said, "I thought the answer was 'Tepig' too. If you want the answer, that lady in the back has it."

"Oh!" I replied, "Well, thanks!"

I rushed to the back shelf to the lady the little girl was describing. It turned out to be a book on "General Studies". I found a section on "Locomotives", and it matched the description on the hint. I found a next riddle that said "If you heat it in a pot, it'll be delicious. What is this?"

"Maybe it's the soup they make at the Striaton Gym," I said, dreamily.

"Hynden, you just ate," Marceline said.

"I know, I know. Let's go find that book!"

In the front of the library, I found a book on "Poffins", which were a kind of Pokémon treat they made in the Sinnoh region. The last clue gave me a list of steps to follow in order to find Lenora. Slightly confused by the directions, I aimlessly wandered around the library for a couple of minutes. The little girl from before stopped me, and urged me toward the spot where she was just standing. I noticed a glowing, red button, and pressed it, revealing a secret door beneath the shelf.

"I assume that it where Lenora is waiting for us," Jackie said.

"Yep," I agreed, "Well guys, let's go!"

We courageously walked down the steps to the battle room. As we approached Lenora, she had the same determined look on her face as I did.

"I'm glad you could finally make it, challenger," Lenora remarked. "I plan on researching how well you've raised your Pokémon. Let's begin now, shall we?"

Lenora sent out her first Pokémon that was called Herdier. I sent out Piko, and he used his new Flame Charge attack. Herdier managed to keep a little bit of its balance, and charged at Piko with Take Down. Piko was pinned to the ground, not sure what to do.

"Piko, use Ember!" I exclaimed.

Following orders, Piko released strong fumes of flames from his nostrils. He managed to leave a nasty burn on Herdier, and it fainted from its wounds. Then, a swirl of flames circled around Piko rapidly. I gazed in amazement as Piko began to get bigger and bulkier. When the flames quelled, Piko was a new Pokémon.

"Wow, Piko!" I beamed, searching my Pokédex, "You've evolved into Pignite!"

"Yep!" Piko exclaimed, with a deeper voice, "Now I'm big and bad!"

"Listen to that, Piko," Toothie remarked, "You finally hit puberty. Didn't think it could happen to ya."

"That was so funny I didn't even bother laughing," Piko retorted, sarcastically. "At least my teeth aren't the size of billboards."

"Why you little, er, not so little-"

"Toothie, let it go," I said, calming her down. "Besides, it's your turn to battle anyways."

"Sweet! I'm rearing to fight!"

Lenora sent out her final Pokémon: Watchog. Seeing who her opponent was, Toothie was even more determined to fight than ever.

"I'll show you what a Watchog can _really_ do!" Toothie gloated.

"Watchog, use Leer!" Lenora commanded.

Watchog's eyes shone an ominous shade of red, causing Toothie to flinch a little bit. Toothie quickly snapped out of it, and used her Crunch attack. Watchog used Retaliate, rapidly punching Toothie in her stomach. Panting, Toothie tried to think about her next move. Unfortunately, she was too hurt to completely focus.

"Hynden," Toothie panted, "Help me out here!"

"Okay okay!" I said, panicking as I sprayed a Super Potion on her wounds, "Use Hypnosis!"

Toothie's gaze turned a bright pink, and several rings of energy were fired toward Watchog's mind. Watchog fell into a deep sleep, giving Toothie a great advantage.

"Now, Toothie!" I exclaimed, "Finish it off with Bite!"

"I thought you'd never ask," Toothie said, smirking.

Toothie ended the battle with her signature Bite attack, and Watchog instantly fainted in its sleep. Returning Watchog to its Pokéball, Lenora congratulated me on my victory.

"As part of the Unova League rules," Lenora said, "I present you with the Basic Badge."

The team and I cheered as I put the Basic Badge in my Badge Case slot. But, the moment of happiness ceased as Hawes came rushing down the steps.

"Hawes," Lenora asked, "What's wrong?"

"Team Plasma is in the museum!" Hawes exclaimed. "They stole the Dragonite skull!"

"What?!" Lenora shouted, shocked. "We've gotta catch them! Hynden, you come along with us!"

I quickly followed them out of the battle room, and into the museum. When we saw the Dragonite skeleton, the skull was gone.

"I'll get the skull back!" I said.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Lenora asked.

"Of course!" I assured, "I won't let you down!"

I ran out of the museum door, and saw a Team Plasma Grunt with the Dragonite skull. In hot pursuit, I dashed after them into inner Pinwheel Forest.

* * *

_**Pokémon**** obtained:**_ None.

**_Deaths:_** None.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Two gym badges down, Six to go!


	9. Fiasco in Pinwheel Forest!

**Author's Note: **I didn't intend to name my Petilil after the Bianca in Pokémon. I actually named her after a character in the Percy Jackson series (Nico di Angelo's older sister), which is a pretty amazing book series! I used to read them all the time back in middle school!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

Upon entering the other part of Pinwheel Forest, I searched for the Plasma Grunt with the stolen Dragonite skull. However, they were nowhere to be found. I was wandering through the forest when I suddenly felt something land on my head. The object turned out to be a Pokémon called Petilil.

"Aww, you're so adorable!" I beamed.

"Well, I may be adorable," Petilil boasted, "But I can take down any Pokémon!"

"Any Pokémon?" Piko asked, approaching Petilil.

"Pffft," she scoffed, "I'm not afraid of some stupid pig or any other Fire-type!"

"Well, why did you jump on my head?" I asked, rubbing my sore scalp.

"Because," Petilil explained, "I um, need a place to stay! Yeah that's it, I need a place to stay!"

"Oh, you don't have a home?" I asked, remorsefully, "Well, you're welcome to stay with us!"

"Thanks! My name's Bianca!"

"Hey, that's one of my friends' names too! I'm Hynden!"

Just as Bianca was getting to know us better, we all heard a beautiful melody. My eyelids started to droop as I saw everyone fall asleep.

"Wait..." I yawned, "I've heard this song before... It's... it's a..."

Before I could finish my sentence, I collapsed to the ground as everything went completely black.

About an hour later, I woke up to find myself and the team tied up in grass vines. We appeared to be in some kind of forest throne room. I frantically looked around to see if I could find the Plasma Grunt we were looking for, but two Pansage tightened their vines. A couple of Pokémon that addressed themselves as Swadloon held Bianca in a cage made of String Shot material.

"Bianca!" I exclaimed, "Let her go now!"

"Silence!" said a masculine voice.

I turned around to see that the voice was coming from one of the two thrones. My eyes widened with joy when I saw what Pokémon it was.

"A Sunflora!" I exclaimed, "I didn't think I'd see one in Unova!"

"Silence, pitiful human!" the Sunflora bellowed, "You are my prisoner!"

"P-Prisoner?!" I gasped, "What for?"

"For attempting to kidnap my daughter!"

"But we didn't kidnap her, she-"

"Enough! I won't have you lying to my face!"

"But we're telling the truth!"

"I will have no more of this! Guards, have the executioner dispose of them!"

Suddenly, we were approached by multiple small, red bug Pokémon. I briefly scoffed at the Pokémon, but Jackie whispered to me that they were called Venipede, and that they were partial Poison-type Pokémon. I gulped at the sight of its tiny fangs as they started to drip with poison.

"Dear," a Lilligant asked, "Is this really the right option?!"

"Of course it is, my wife," Sunflora responded, "After all, they tried to kidnap Bianca!"

"Somehow, I don't think that's the whole story," Lilligant said.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing!"

Before the Venipede could even scratch us, they were doused with a light green powder. As they fell asleep, I saw Bianca use a Mega Drain attack on them.

"Bianca!" Sunflora exclaimed, "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Daddy, let them go!" Bianca retorted. "They didn't kidnap me, I was trying to run away!"

"But, why?" Sunflora asked.

"Why?! Because, you've always seen me as 'weak' or 'helpless'! Whenever I'd go to train, you always sent one of the guards to supervise me!"

"She's right, dear," Lilligant said, "You've gotta accept the fact that our little girl is growing up!"

"Well," Sunflora pondered, "Alright. I'll let you and your friends go."

"Thanks, Dad!" Bianca said as she nuzzled her father's arm.

The guards released us, and Bianca happily jumped into my arms. Before we left, I decided to briefly talk to Bianca's dad.

"Excuse me," I asked, "How did you get to the Unova region anyway? I'm from Johto, and I've only seen them there!"

"Ah, yes," Sunflora explained, "It is quite a story. You see, back when I was a small Sunkern, I was poached by Pokémon hunters. They took me all the way to Nacrene City to try and sell my stem for profit, but I managed to escape, and wound up in Pinwheel Forest."

"That's horrible!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, quite unfortunate. I'm sorry about trying to kill you and all. I just didn't want my dear daughter to be taken away from me."

"It's alright, Your Highness. I promise, we'll take good care of Bianca!"

"You'd better. And if she happens to find a romantic interest, come to me at once!"

"Um, yes sir. I'll keep that in mind."

After we waved goodbye to Bianca's tribe, we continued our quest to find the stolen Dragonite Skull.

"You know, Bianca," I said, "You remind me a lot of my friend who has the same name as you."

"What do you mean by that?" Bianca asked.

"I mean, you guys are both perky, love battling, and you have a bit of a conflict with your dads."

"Well, I'd have to see this other Bianca for myself," Bianca said. "So, what are you guys doing now?"

"We're looking for Team Plasma!" Eliza exclaimed, "They took a Pokémon skull from the museum!"

"With me on your team, those Plasma guys don't stand a chance!" Bianca boasted.

We searched high and low for the skull for quite some time. Suddenly, we heard a voice coming from a nearby ledge. Walking up the log connecting the ledge to the ground, we finally found the Plasma Grunt thief with the Dragonite Skull.

"Gotcha!" I yelled.

"You!" the Plasma Grunt exclaimed, "Come for this stupid skull, have you?"

"You know it, now hand it over!"

"I'm not giving up this skull without a fight!"

The Plasma Grunt sent out his two Patrat, and one new Pokémon called Sandile. Studying the type choices, I thought hard about who to send out.

"Hynden," Jackie said, "Let me and Eliza fight this battle."

"Yeah!" Eliza said, excitedly, "After all, it's our dream to both get stronger!"

Seeing that there was no way to persuade them otherwise, I sent Jackie and Eliza to battle the Plasma Grunt's Pokémon. With a single Low Sweep and Mud Shot, one of the Patrat and the Sandlile were knocked out quickly. Jackie and Eliza happily congratulated each other, but Jackie's laughter ended quickly as he saw the last Patrat behind Eliza.

"Eliza!" Jackie shouted, panicking, "Behind you!"

"What?!" Eliza exclaimed, turning around.

As soon as Eliza turned around, the enemy Patrat sunk its tooth deep into one of Eliza's speaker bumps. Eliza fell to the ground with a thud. Furious, Jackie tearfully gave a brutal Double Kick to the Patrat who had attacked struck Eliza down. As the Plasma Grunt gazed in horror, he sent his weakly breathing Patrat back to its Pokéball.

"You know, unless you want Jackie to rearrange your face, I suggest you hand over the skull," I insisted.

"O-Okay!" the Plasma Grunt shrieked, handing me the Dragonite Skull, "Just don't hurt me!"

"Thank you. Now, if I were you, I'd get the heck out of here, unless you want to end up like your Patrat."

"No need to tell me twice!"

Once the Grunt ran away, I calmly faced Jackie, who was somberly cradling Eliza's tiny damaged body. Eliza slowly opened her eyes, tears seeping from her eyes.

"J-Jackie..." Eliza whispered, "I... I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, little one!" Jackie choked as tears formed in his eyes, "It'll be alright!"

"No, Jackie," Eliza said, "I'm sorry I broke our promise... It looks like we can't... we can't do this training thing together after all..."

"Eliza!" Jackie sobbed, "Please don't leave me!"

"Please... carry out our dream... together..."

Jackie silently wept as he gently put Eliza's body on the ground. Bianca's family tribe arranged an ancient honorary funeral for Eliza. Marceline began crying on Ruffle's shoulder, and Bianca's mother laid a grassy wreath of honor on Eliza's grave. Jackie stepped forward and wrapped his belt sash around our friend's gravestone.

"Farewell... my dearest friend," Jackie said, wiping his eyes. "Eliza, I promise, I will complete our dream of becoming the very best! I will help Hynden take on the Pokémon League!"

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained: **_Bianca the Petilil, Female, Brave nature, Highly persistent.

_**Deaths: **_Eliza the Tympole, Lvl. 13-18

* * *

**Author's Note:** I imagine Bianca (my Petilil)'s father to sound like Flame King from Adventure Time (Keith David). And, Bianca's from both a mix between and tribe and a kingdom (if that's possible), so I guess she's technically considered a princess. If anyone's wondering about where Burgh comes in, it'll be very very soon!


	10. Team Plasma: The Munna Moochers!

**Author's Note:** After I finish this story, I'm hoping to write a sequel based on Pokémon White 2. If I do write it, Hynden will reprise her role as the main character (yes, people from the previous game _will _ remember her) However, it won't be a Nuzlocke, it'll just be a story based on my playthrough of PW2.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon

* * *

When Eliza's funeral ended, the team and I decided to stayed by Jackie's side, and honor yet another fallen teammate. On the inside, I started to blame myself for not stopping Eliza from battling, but I didn't want to get overcome by guilt like I did when I lost Chiro.

"Excuse me, Miss," I heard a nearby voice say, "Are you alright?"

I looked up to see a tall man with flowing caramel brown hair, a long sleeved green shirt, red and green pinstripe pants, and a bright red scarf.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Burgh," he greeted, "I'm the Gym Leader of Castelia City, which is right past this forest. Why is such a lovely lady like yourself upset?"

"One of my Pokémon got killed by Team Plasma..."

"Oh my, I'm so sorry that happened."

"It's alright, Burgh. Could you bring this skull back to Lenora? I got it back from the Plasma Grunt who killed my Tympole."

"Sure," Burgh agreed. "In the meantime, why don't you go check out Castelia City? It's down that path, and you need to cross Skyarrow Bridge to get there."

"Thanks," I said, "I'll see you later."

Following Burgh's directions, we walked down a long path that lead toward a bright light. Suddenly, our path was blocked by a Sandile. Remembering that the Plasma Grunt from earlier had one just like it, I angrily prepared my team for battle.

"Wait, wait!" It cried, "I'm not here to fight you guys!"

"Likely story," I said, distrustfully.

"Have you come to kill another one of our friends, punk?!" Piko yelled.

"N-No!" Sandile insisted, "I'm just trying to escape from Team Plasma! You see, I saw the way my old master took your Tympole friend's life like that, and I realized what monsters Team Plasma members really are! So, when he ran off, I stayed behind."

"So why are you talking to us?" I asked.

"I was hoping you guys could take me back to the desert that's near Castelia City. I overheard you and that fancy hair guy talking, and I saw it as my perfect chance!"

"Fine, we'll take you back home. But the second we get there, we'd better not see you again, got it?!"

"Sheesh, you're acting like _I'm_ the one who killed your friend!"

"No, but you're allied with one of the filthy scum who did!" Jackie yelled.

Trekking up the forest path, we came across a long, white bridge. The view from the highest peak was amazing, and I could see the wide open sea. After walking past Skyarrow Bridge, we finally made it to Castelia City.

"Man, this place is huge!" I exclaimed.

"Where's the Gym?" Marceline asked.

"Let's just try our best to find it..." I said.

Due to the incredibly large buildings, we had trouble finding our way around the city. Whenever we thought we had found a new path, it would always lead us back to the Pokémon Center.

"Augh!" I bellowed, getting impatient, "Where's the damn gym already?!"

Much to everyone's relief, I found a sign that said the Castelia Gym was directly down the path I was staring at. Excited to face the Gym, I ran down the pathway. I grinned as I saw the Pokémon Gym symbol on a large, glowing, green building. I nearly ran in, but remembering what happened the previous two times I ran into a Gym, I calmly approached the door. I saw the doors open, and Cheren came rushing out, covered in honey.

"I've just obtained the Insect Badge," Cheren said to me as he wiped honey from his glasses, "Aside from my clothes and glasses getting soiled with honey, it wasn't much of a challenge."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Burgh uses Bug-type Pokémon. For me, it is a bit of an easy win. With the Insect Badge in my grasp, I'm only inching closer and closer to becoming Champion!"

After Cheren walked off, I saw Burgh walk out of the Castelia Gym.

"There you are, Hynden!" Burgh exclaimed, "I need you to come with me to one of the piers! I've gotten news that Team Plasma is causing trouble here!"

Without hesitation, I followed Burgh to the exact pier he was talking about. I saw Bianca standing next to a girl with darker skin and large purple hair. I noticed Bianca's eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying.

"Bianca, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Team Plasma took Munna from me!" Bianca wailed.

"I heard this girl's cries for help," the girl next to Bianca said, "But they escaped with Munna way too quickly even for me!"

"It's alright, Iris," Burgh assured, "You tried your best."

"But 'tried my best' isn't enough!" Iris exclaimed, "Why would Team Plasma try to take away someone's Pokémon like that?! It's just unacceptable!"

We were suddenly approached by a Team Plasma Grunt. I noticed that she was gripping Bianca's Munna with one hand. Bianca was horrified as she watched her Munna squirm in pain underneath the Plasma Grunt's grip.

"Hmph, you people should be thanking me," she pouted, "I've freed this little Munna from human tyranny!"

"Y-You monster!" Bianca exclaimed, "Let Munna go!"

"And what? Let it suffer under the likes of a heartless tyrant like you?" the Grunt scoffed, "I don't think so!"

The Plasma Grunt ran off with Munna crying in her grasp. Burgh immediately chased her in the same direction. Not wanting the Grunt to get away with one of my friend's Pokémon, I followed after Burgh. We saw more Plasma members in front of a building close to the Gym.

"Return that Munna at once!" Burgh yelled.

"Why don't you try and make us?" the Grunts said as they sent out their Pokémon.

"Hynden, I'll take these two down, and you handle the last one!" Burgh said.

"Alright!" I exclaimed as I sent out Toothie.

"Hynden, wait!" Sandile exclaimed.

"What do you want?" I asked, irritated.

"Let me help you fight! It's to make up for my ex-master taking out your friend!"

"Well, you'd better stay outta my way!" Toothie snapped.

Toothie used her new Super Fang attack on one of the enemy Sandile, knocking it out instantly. Suddenly, the two remaining Sandile used a surprise Bite attack on Toothie. Toothie wailed in pain, but much to mine and Toothie's surprise, the Sandile that was apparently on our side took down the last two Sandile by using Sand Tomb followed by an extremely powerful Bite. Toothie and I stood there, surprised and amazed on how strong the Sandile was.

"Wow," Toothie thought, still staring, "He... He saved my life! And I've never seen any Pokémon bite like _that _before!"

The Plasma Grunts escaped into the close-by building, and I saw Bianca and Iris running towards our direction.

"There's no time to lose!" Iris exclaimed, "Into that building!"

When we dashed into the building, I gasped as I saw the same guy who gave that speech back in Accumula Town.

"Well well well," Ghetsis chuckled, "If it isn't Castelia's very own Gym Leader Burgh."

"So, what's Team Plasma's motive anyways?" Burgh asked, "You're intentions appear to be more hostile than you let on."

"I assure you, we are doing as we've always been saying. Do you know of the famous legend of Unova?"

"You're talking about the legendary Reshiram, right?" Iris asked.

"Indeed. The legend states that Reshiram had appeared to a true hero. That very hero had brought peace and salvation to the Unova region. That's why we are planning to summon Reshiram so we can make my- erm, I mean _our_ dreams of Unova's recreation a reality!"

"And just what _is_ that very dream of recreating Unova exactly?" Burgh asked, questioningly. "I must admit, your ideas have strengthened the bond between me and my Pokémon. And, I plan on keeping that bond very strong!"

"I must say, Burgh," Ghetsis remarked, "Your words are quite intelligent. For now, I will agree with you."

One of the Plasma Grunts released Munna from her grip, and Munna happily threw itself back into Bianca's arms.

"For now, this is farewell," Ghetsis said.

For a split second, I could have sworn I saw Ghetsis give me a menacing grin. I merely shook it off as I put my attention towards Burgh.

"Burgh, what are you doing?!" Iris cried, "Team Plasma is getting away!"

"Let them go for now, Iris," Burgh said, calmly.

"Thank you guys for getting Munna back to me safely!" Bianca exclaimed.

"Well, I guess it's okay if you're happy..." Iris sighed.

"So, what's everyone going to do now?" Burgh asked.

"I actually plan on challenging you, Burgh," I said.

"And I look forward to that challenge, Hynden," Burgh responded, "What do you two plan on doing?"

"We're going to go sightseeing a bit!" Iris shouted, excitedly. "Come on, Bianca!"

As soon as Iris, Bianca, and Burgh left, I decided to follow suit. Remembering what the Sandile wanted, I hurried through the rushing crowd of people toward the desert area entrance.

"Well, Sandile," I said, "You're free to go!"

"What?" Sandile exclaimed, "We're at the desert already?!"

"Yup! You're free to go! Although, I gotta admit you're actually not so bad after all!"

"Thanks. So, I guess I'll be going now..."

Before Sandile could completely set foot into the sandstorm, I saw Toothie quickly grab his tail.

"Wait!" Toothie exclaimed.

We looked in surprise as Toothie held the Sandile back. She gave us a look that probably said "What are you guys staring at?!"

"What's with the hold back?" Sandile asked.

"I-I'm just thinking that we could use a fella like you on the team!" Toothie said as her cheeks started to turn pink.

"Really? You mean it?" Sandile exclaimed.

"Actually, I don't see why not!" I said, "Welcome to the team! Do you have a name by any chance?"

"No. My old master was afraid that naming a Pokémon would cause a sense of fear and captivity for me!"

"Hmm..." I pondered, "How about... 'Gummy'?"

"...That is the most unfitting name ever! And yet, I like it!"

"Okay, Gummy it is then!"

"We were just about to go battle Burgh!" Toothie said, blushing, "You wanna come with?"

"Of course!" Gummy agreed, "I'm always up for a good battle."

"Hehe," Toothie laughed, still red.

"Whatever happened to 'that lovey-dovey crap won't happen to me'?" Piko asked, slyly.

"S-Shut up!" Toothie barked, "I'm not in love with Gummy! It's like I told you and Charlie: I said no lovey-dovey crap, and I meant it!"

"It won't stay that way for long..." Piko muttered.

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained: **_Gummy the Sandile, Male, Calm nature, Somewhat vain.

_**Deaths: **_None.


	11. The Buzz of the Battle! (VS Burgh)

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long wait! Homework and Writer's Block kind of got in the way! So, chapter 11 is finally here!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

I entered the Castelia Gym, but I stopped dead in my tracks as I found myself trapped in a large wall of honey.

"Yuck!" I groaned, disgusted. "It's all over my clothes!"

"I don't see any bad things here!" Ruffle chirped, licking the honey walls.

"Blech! Ruffle, I don't get how you can eat that disgusting sweet stuff!" Bianca groaned, disgusted.

"What? Are you telling me you don't like sweets?" Ruffle asked.

"Sweet things never do sit well on my taste buds," Bianca muttered.

"But, you don't even have a visible mouth..." Ruffle thought.

"Hey, Ruffle," I said, "I've got an idea. How would you like to go to an 'All-you-can-eat Honey buffet?"

"Really?! You mean I can lick all of this honey?" Ruffle asked, excited.

"Yup, just enough so we can get to Burgh."

With no hesitation, Ruffle happily licked each honey wall we passed through before they melded back together. By the time we got to Burgh's area, Ruffle's belly was slightly bloated, and slumped on the bottom of the stairs that led to the battle platform that Burgh was standing on.

"Wow," Ruffle said, "I've never eaten so much honey in my life!"

"Are you okay, Ruffle?" Marceline asked, worried.

"I'm fine, Marcy," Ruffle replied. "I may be full of sticky honey, but it was totally worth it."

"Why don't you rest? Marceline could help me battle instead!" Piko insisted.

"Alright. I'll catch up with you guys when you finish!"

Everyone walked up the steps toward Burgh's direction. When he looked at us however, Burgh gave us a horrified and disgusted expression.

"Oh my!" Burgh exclaimed, "Hynden, whatever happened to your outfit?"

"The honey walls," I answered, deadpan, "The honey walls happened."

"No matter, after this battle, I shall call Elesa, and have her see this through!"

Burgh sent out his first Pokémon, a small Pokémon with a rock for a shell called Dwebble. I decided to use Piko as Dwebble's opponent.

"Dwebble, use Faint Attack!" Burgh cried.

Dwebble sneaked behind Piko, and gave him a powerful punch to the back. Piko merely stumbled over a little bit before swiftly getting back on his feet.

"Piko, use Flame Charge!" I commanded.

Piko rapidly stomped his feet as they started to spark up strong flames. He charged straight into Dwebble, knocking it back a few feet.

"Now, Dwebble! Use Sand-Attack!" Burgh called.

Dwebble summoned a patch of sand, and scraped some of it into Piko's eyes, causing him to shriek in pain. Taking advantage of Piko's temporary blindness, Dwebble hurled a medium sized rock at Piko, knocking him to the ground. As Piko weakly stood up, he finished Dwebble off with several Ember attacks.

"Alright, Marceline!" I exclaimed, "It's your turn!"

Marceline fluttered forward, standing face-to-face with Burgh's newest Pokémon. Checking my Pokédex, I saw that the new Pokémon was called Leavanny.

"Leavanny, use String Shot so Woobat slows down!" Burgh yelled.

Marceline quickly stopped the sticky string from getting on her body, but the String Shot completely immoblized her right wing. She tried to gnaw her wing free, but found that she couldn't. Leavanny attacked Marceline with a Razor Leaf attack, causing her to scream out in pain.

"Marcy!" cried Ruffle from the bottom of the stairs.

To my surprise, Ruffle swiftly flew up to the battle field. He quickly pecked Marceline's wing free from the String Shot's sticky material. Marceline blushed at Ruffle's brave gesture, and quickly started flying again.

"T-Thanks, Ruffle!" Marceline said, blushing.

"It was no big deal," Ruffle responded, blushing even harder, "I just thought you needed help."

"Wow!" Marceline thought, smiling, "Ruffle actually helped me!"

Marceline's body started to illuminate completely. She was surrounded by many pink, wavy rings as her head started to grow more visible. Her wings also got slightly longer, and I noticed feet starting to grow from her bottom. After the light died down, Marceline fluttered happily.

"Yes!" Marceline exclaimed, "It's about time I finally became a Swoobat!" Using only a single Air Cutter attack, she managed to critically weaken Leavanny. Now that Leavanny was too weak to attack, Marceline finished it off with her signature Heart Stamp move.

"Woo-hoo!" Marceline cheered, "I did it!"

Ruffle stepped forward as Burgh sent out his last Pokémon: Whirlipede. Being very wary of Whirlipede's poison, Ruffle stood his ground.

"Whirlipede, use Poison Tail!" Burgh commanded.

Whirlipede lashed out at Ruffle with its short tail. It managed to make a scrape on Ruffle, but Ruffle still tried to stay strong.

"Ruffle, finish Whirlipede with Air Cutter!" I yelled.

Ruffle rapidly flapped his wings, unleashing several powerful gusts of wind. Whirlipede was harshly blown across the room. It tried to stand up to fight, but collapsed from its injuries.

"You truly are quite the trainer," Burgh said as he returned his wounded Whirlipede to its Pokéball. "For defeating me, I give you the Insect Badge."

The team and I cheered once the Insect Badge touched my palm. When I opened my Badge Case, I noticed a small note attached to it. The note said "Hynden, when you reach Nimbasa City, ask a woman named Elesa for a new, non-honey stained outfit."

"Thanks, Burgh," I said, "I'll go ahead to Nimbasa City!"

Once I left the Gym, my Xtransceiver began ringing. I pressed the answer button to see Bianca is the one calling me.

"Hi, Hynden!" Bianca greeted. "Listen, do you want to have a battle with me?"

"Um, sure!" I agreed, "I don't see why not! I just got the Insect Badge and all."

"Great! Meet me at the entrance to Route 4, which is right near the desert!"

After I healed my Pokémon team, I ran to the Route 4 entrance gate. I remembered where it was because it's the same place where I recruited Gummy. Suddenly, I was stopped by the gate admin.

"Hold it!" she said, "Miss, how many Pokémon do you have with you?!"

"Uh, let's see..." I pondered. "One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven."

"My apologies, but as a Trainer, you are only permitted to have only a maximum _six _Pokémon with you at all time! Either you store at least one Pokémon in the Pokémon Center's PC storage system, or I don't let you pass through!"

"Well, I'm certainly _not_ going all the way back to the Pokémon Center just to do that!" I scowled.

"No matter. If you don't want to go back to the Pokémon Center, then just use the PC Storage feature on your Xtransceiver."

"You can do that?!"

"Yes, just press the little button with the computer on it, and select the Pokémon you want to send back."

I did exactly as she said, and a little menu came up with a list of all the Pokémon that were with me. I sadly looked at my team, not wanting to box up anyone.

"Do not be sad, Hynden," Jackie assured, "I volunteer to go."

"But, Jackie..." I said.

"It is fine. After all, you can always put me back on the team, right?"

"Right. I'll try and put you back as soon as possible, okay?"

"Hynden, wait!" Marceline exclaimed, "I'll box up too!"

"Marceline, no!" Ruffle yelled. "What am I gonna do without you?"

"Don't worry, Ruffle!" Marceline assured, "I promise I'll see you again!"

"...Do you absolutely promise?" Ruffle asked.

"Cross my heart, and hope to fly!" Marceline said, kissing Ruffle on the cheek.

"D-Duh, okay!" Ruffle said, blushing.

I reluctantly selected both Jackie and Marceline on the Xtransceiver, and pressed 'Confirm'. Jackie and Marceline evaporated into beams of light, and quickly vanished. I assured myself and the team that we'll hopefully see them again. I saw Bianca come in after that.

"Hynden!" she beamed, "I'm glad you could make it! Are you ready to battle?"

"You know it!" I said, excitedly.

Bianca sent out her Herdier to battle first. Remembering the type match-up rules, I sent out Piko. Herdier's first move was Take Down, critically pouncing on Piko, but Herdier got a bit hurt as well. Piko used his Flame Charge attack, and sent Herdier flying across the room.

"Alright, Herdier, you've done your best!" Bianca said, sending Herdier back to its Pokéball. "Munna, it's your turn!"

I sent Piko back, and decided to put Gummy in the battlefield for the first time. Munna used its Psybeam attack, but it didn't do much damage on Gummy. Gummy trapped Munna in a Sand Tomb, leaving it surrounded by a fairly large tornado of sand.

"Munna, try to use Psybeam again!" Bianca called.

Munna's Psybeam attack managed to pierce through the tornado, and temporarily knock Gummy on his back. Gummy shakily got up, but he still looked strong enough to fight.

"Gummy, finish it with Assurance!" I commanded.

Hearing my command, Gummy leaped through the Sand Tomb tornado, and repeatedly pounded his tiny fists into Munna. When the Sand Tomb cleared, I'd seen that Munna had fainted. Bianca quickly sent Munna back to its Pokéball while I did the same with Gummy.

"Wow, Hynden!" she beamed, "You've gotten really strong! But I'm not done just yet! Servine, Panpour, come on out!"

Once Servine and Panpour re-materialized, I called out the two Pokémon that were the most super effective against a Grass-type and a Water-type: Piko and Bianca (my Petilil).

"So, this is the _other_ Bianca you were talking about," Bianca remarked. "Looks pretty flighty to me, but she could seem like a worthy opponent!"

Piko easily took Servine down with one Flame Charge attack, while Bianca took down Panpour with a couple Mega Drains. As she returned her unconscious Pokémon back to their Pokéballs, Bianca stared at me with utter awe.

"You sure have gotten a lot stronger!" Bianca said to me.

"Thanks, you too," I responded.

"Waah!" the gate admin cried, "Look at all of this sand!"

"Oops," Bianca and I said, "We're sorry."

"You will be!" the gate admin snapped, "You two aren't going anywhere until you clean up all of this sand!"

"What?! All of it?" I groaned.

"Yes, all of it!" the gate admin insisted, "If you don't, then I'll be forced to call authorities on you two!"

Suddenly, Ruffle summoned a powerful Gust attack. The sand blew straight into Route 4, making the entire area spotless.

"Is that clean enough for ya?" Ruffle asked.

"...Um, okay, you can go ahead I guess," the gate admin said, urging us toward the exit.

"Thanks!" Bianca responded as we walked into Route 4. "So, Hynden, are you headed to Nimbasa City?"

"Yes actually," I said, "I am!"

"Wonderful! When you get there, look for me at a place called the Pokémon Musical center! You can't miss it!"

"Alright, Bianca, take care!" I said as Bianca ran off once again.

* * *

**_Pokémon obtained:_** None.

_**Deaths: **_None.

_**(New!) Boxed: **_Jackie the Sawk, Marceline the Swoobat

* * *

**Author's Note: **I kinda made up the PC Box feature on the Xtransceiver so no one would have to find a Pokémon Center to box Pokémon. It's more convenient that way! Stay tuned for Chapter 12!


	12. N Harmonia: Team Plasma's Heir?

**Author's Note: **Here's chapter 12! If anyone can find the Avengers reference, then good job! Also, Hynden's motorcycle bike is supposed to resemble the Mach Bikes from Mario Kart Wii (not Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald). I imagine it to look close to Peach's and Birdo's mach bikes. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

I began walking through the mild sandstorm, hoping to get to Nimbasa City soon. I groaned as I felt the sand stick to my honey infested sweatshirt.

"How long is this desert?" I groaned, "I'm getting sand all over me!"

"Hynden, we'll get there when we get there," Piko said, "Just be pati- Aaugh!"

I turned to see why Piko cut himself off, but to my surprise, he was gone. The team and I frantically looked around for him until we finally saw him get dragged behind a large stone. I followed him until I came across the sight of a strange looking Pokémon gently scratching Piko's face with its finger.

"Is that a new Pokémon?" I thought looking at my Pokédex.

My Pokédex identified the cute little red Pokémon as a Darumaka. I smiled a little bit because the little thing looked kind of adorable, but I quickly snapped out of it as I remembered I needed to help my Pignite friend.

"Hiya, gorgeous," the Darumaka said charmingly, "Ya know, I don't see many other Fire-types around here. Wanna come with me?"

"Yeah, sorry lady, but I'm gonna have to decline," Piko said, uneasily.

"And why's that? Y'all got a girlfriend already?"

"N-No! H-Hynden, a little help here?!"

I rushed over to Piko's side, gently pulling the Darumaka off of him. As I was asking him whether or not he was okay, I was suddenly overcome by a huge wave of fire. I wailed in pain as I instinctively rolled over the part of the ground with lighter sand.

"Ouch!" I screamed, "What the hell was that for?!"

"For tryin' to move in between me and my man!" Darumaka snapped.

"What are you talking about? I'm his trainer! I was only checking to see if he was alright!"

"Oh, well sorry about that, hon!"

"You're going to be," I said, angrily tossing a Pokéball at Darumaka.

Once the Pokéball finally clicked shut, I let the Darumaka out. She seemed to be a bit miffed about being captured, so I knelt down and apologized to her.

"So, I guess I'm part of the team now," Darumaka said, "I'm Sophia."

"Hynden, and welcome to the team," I greeted.

"Nice to meet ya, gurl," Sophia replied.

"Yeah, welcome to the team," Piko groaned, "Just try not to try anything funny, okay?"

"Sheesh fine, I won't," Sophia said.

As I began to continue walking again, I heard a small crunch sound from below. The item I stepped on turned out to be a pair of BlackGlasses. Holding the slightly cracked pair of glasses in my left hand, I suddenly got an idea.

"Hey, Toothie, come out here for a second," I said, calling Toothie out of her Pokéball.

"What is it, Hynden?" Toothie said, her voice sounding slightly cross, "I was napping."

"I think you should give these to Gummy once we reach Nimbasa," I suggested, winking, "I think he'd really like 'em."

"Ugh, f-for the last time, I only like Gummy as a friend!" Toothie retorted, blushing.

"Toothie, no matter how many times you say that, none of us are going to believe you. Come on, just give them to him!"

"Fine, but just as a 'Good Friends" gift!" Toothie snapped, as I called her back to her Pokéball.

After about half an hour of trudging through sand and wind, I finally managed to reach Nimbasa City. Even though it wasn't as large and sophisticated as Castelia, it was truly a sight to behold. But, my moment of awe was interrupted as a saw a Plasma Grunt harassing a bearded man.

"Listen, old man, we know you run a Pokémon Daycare near Striaton, so hand over the Pokémon, or this will get ugly _really_ fast!" the Plasma Grunt commanded.

"I shall do no such thing!" the Daycare Man retorted.

"Hmph, you people are so pathetic. Don't you see that we Team Plasma will be the ones to bring this region total salvation? Tyrannical trainers like yourselves shall one day kneel before us!"

"...Not to people like you," the Daycare Man said with a look of seriousness.

"Pfft, there are no people like us."

"There will always be people like you!"

"So be it. Trubbish, teach this old coot a lesson with Double-Slap!" the Plasma Grunt said as he sent out his Pokémon.

Before the little garbage-like Pokémon could even swipe an arm at the Daycare Man, I quickly tossed Bianca's Pokéball in their direction, and she blocked the attack with her newly learned Magical Leaf attack.

"You again!" the Plasma Grunt exclaimed, "How dare you interfere with Team Plasma?!"

"Dude, assaulting an old man? Not cool," I said, aggravated.

"Whatever, I'd bet you'll never find the rest of us at the Nimbasa Amusement Park found nearby!"

The Plasma Grunt scooped up his wounded Trubbish, and hurried up towards the amusement park's direction.

"Thank you for helping me out!" the Daycare Man said, "As a reward I give you-"

"Let me guess," I interrupted, "A Potion? A Soda Pop?"

"Not even close!" the Daycare Man said, pressing a button on some kind of remote.

Suddenly, I heard the buzzing of a motor. As the buzzing became more audible, my eyes widened with wonder as I saw the prize he had to offer. Much to my surprise and awe, I saw a fair-sized, bubblegum-pink motorbike decorated with a darker pink swirl in the middle.

"Ta-Da! It's that new model of a motorbike that they're making these days!" the Daycare Man said, proudly. "Plus, it's battery-charged, and Eco-friendly!"

"Wow!" I exclaimed, nearly drooling.

"Before I give you the keys though, let me see your Trainer ID," the Daycare Man said, holding out his hand.

I proudly handed the Daycare Man my Trainer ID, and once he saw that I had just turned sixteen, he handed me the keys to the bike and the bright red helmet to go with it. After the Daycare Man said goodbye to me, I dreamily stared at my new bike. Suddenly, I felt Bianca nudge her head on my shoulder.

"Do you even know how to drive that thing?" Bianca asked.

"To be honest, no," I said, putting on the helmet, "But, it'd couldn't hurt to learn!"

"Don't drive the bike now! We've got some Plasma butt to kick!" Bianca exclaimed, determined.

"Oh, fine," I said, disappointed.

Pressing a dark indigo button on the motorbike's remote, the bike instantly shrink down to a size small enough for me to put into my pocket. I hurried towards the amusement park, hoping to still be able to find the Plasma Grunt. Much to my dismay, I instead found N.

"Ah, Hynden," he greeted me, calmly, "Fancy meeting you- Oh my, what happened? You're all sticky and sandy."

"Long story. Did you see Team Plasma anywhere?"

"Why yes, follow me!"

Grabbing my hand, he gently pulled me in the direction of the giant Ferris Wheel with carts shaped like regular Pokéballs. However, none of the Plasma Grunts were found.

"Uh-Oh," N said, trying to wipe some honey-sand mix off of his hand, "It looks like they took off. Well, we can always spot them in the Ferris Wheel!"

As we both went inside the round cart, it almost immediately took flight. I was somewhat amazed by our current height off of the ground. I felt a bit uncomfortable being all alone with N, but at the same time, I somewhat enjoyed the motion of the Wheel.

"So, Hynden," N started, "I must ask you: Can you talk to Pokémon as well?"

"Yes, I can," I responded, "It's kind of a trait that I get from my parents. What about you? How are you able to talk to Pokémon?"

"I grew up all around them. I guess that as time passed, they begun to speak to me like humans do. However, my father only sees me as being a freak or insane even."

"Yeah, over time, people like my friends Bianca and Cheren have always thought I was kind of weird for actually speaking to them."

"I see."

"Who is your dad, anyways?" I asked.

"My father is quite infamous, his name is Ghetsis Harmonia."

My eyes went even wider as I heard that name spoken.

"G-Ghetsis?!" I exclaimed, shocked, "Then that means you're-"

"That's right, Hynden," N said, "I'm the true leader and heir of Team Plasma."

When our cart reached the ground, the whole wheel had come to a complete halt. I saw two Plasma Grunts were standing behind N as we both begun to reach for our Pokéballs.

"Stop," N told the Grunts, "It's alright. She's with me. So, Hynden, are you following my beliefs as well?"

"Your beliefs?" I asked, confused.

"Indeed. My beliefs that both Pokémon and humans should live in harmony!"

"Um, sure, I guess."

"If you speak the truth, then have a battle with me to prove it!" N said, sending out his Sandile.

My Petilil Bianca hopped forth to battle Sandile. It only took two Magical Leaf attacks to knock out the Sandile, so N called it back, and summoned his next Pokémon: a Scraggy. According to my Pokédex, it was both Dark and Fighting, a pretty strange combination in my opinion.

"Alright, Gummy, come on out!" I said, as I tossed Gummy's Pokéball. "Use Bite!"

Gummy proceeded to sink his teeth into Scraggy's arm. A little bit of blood could be seen dripping from the wound, but Scraggy still managed to stay strong.

"You're Pokémon seem to be elated to battle," N remarked, "But nevertheless, I will defeat you! Scraggy, use Brick Break!"

Scraggy's hand forcefully blew itself into Gummy's back, causing him to cough up a bit of blood. My face scrunched up with worry, but I saw that Gummy was still standing boldly.

"Is that all you got, chump?" Gummy asked with great snark.

"Gummy, finish it with Mud-Slap!" I called.

Gummy manipulated a large amount of dirt from the ground, and released its force onto Scraggy, critically knocking it unconscious. Suddenly, Gummy was engulfed by a large tornado of sand, while also being surrounded by streaks of dark aura. His hind legs had grown larger, his snout longer, and his teeth grew larger and sharper. After the tornado had died down, I looked at my Pokédex for it to reveal that Gummy was now a Pokémon called Krokorok.

"I say, you're quite the trainer, Hynden," N said as he dismissed his Scraggy, "Your Pokémon evolved quite quickly."

N sent out his last Pokémon which turned out to be a Darumaka. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to battle with mine, I summoned Sophia from her Pokéball. However, I was surprised to see that she was still in a sleeping position.

"Sophia, Sophia wake up!" I said, shaking her.

"Hrmm... wha?" Sophia slurred, "Morning already?"

"It's 3 in the afternoon," I replied, slightly annoyed.

"Oh! Well, alright, let's battle or whatever!"

Sophia started off the battle with a simple Headbutt attack, sending the other Darumaka back a few feet.

"Darumaka, use Fire Punch!" N commanded.

Darumaka's fist ignited, and slammed its fist into Sophia's body. When she got up, Sophia didn't look the least bit of pleased.

"Aw naw you didn't!" Sophia hollered, "It's on now!"

"That's the spirit, Sophia!" I said, "Use Rage!"

Sophia's eyes began to glow a burning red, and she quickly charged her fist into the other Darumaka's abdomen, and Darumaka crashed into N, knocking them both down. Composing himself, N smiled as he called his Pokémon back.

"Well done, Hynden," N said. "I may have been defeated, but I will not relinquish my goals!"

"What _are_ your goals exactly, N?" I asked.

"My goal is to defeat Alder, the Champion of Unova! And once I'm Champion, I shall make all of the trainers release their Pokémon!"

"What?!" I exclaimed, "You can't do that! I won't let you!"

"Try to stop me," N said, smirking, "If you want to defeat me, then you must collect all 8 Pokémon League badges and challenge the Elite Four themselves!"

"Oh believe me, I will," I said with extreme seriousness and determination, "You'll never get away with this!"

"We'll see what happens. But for now, Au Revoir!"

As N walked away, I couldn't help but feel slightly worried. I was worried that N would defeat this Alder guy, and actually get away with his so-called "Pokémon Liberation". But, I decided to just shake it off, and leave the amusement park for now. Realizing that Gummy was still outside, I called Toothie out of her Pokéball so she could give Gummy her little gift.

"O-Oh, G-Gummy!" Toothie stuttered, turning pink, "You've evolved!"

"Yep, now I'm a big bad Krokorok!" Gummy boasted. "Hey, whatcha got there, Toothie?"

"What, th-this? Um, well these are a pair of BlackGlasses that were found in the desert, and I-I thought you might, um... like them?"

"Gee, thanks, Toothie!" Gummy said, putting the shades on his eyes, "Not only are my Dark-type moves enhanced, but now I look even cooler than before!"

"Your welcome, Gummy," Toothie said, looking down as she blushed.

"These really mean a lot to me!" Gummy exclaimed as he hugged Toothie with his slightly short arms.

"If this is a dream, please don't wake me up!" Toothie thought, smiling as her entire face turned bright red.

"Ah, Pokémon Love," I thought, "Alright you two Luvdiscs, we've got some serious matters to attend to."

"W-What?!" Gummy and Toothie exclaimed, both blushing, "Luvdiscs?!"

Once I returned Gummy and Toothie to their respective Pokéballs, I hurried over to the Pokémon Center to heal my team. When everyone's wounds were treated, I ran toward the Pokémon Musical to meet up with Bianca, whom I was already late to meet with.

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained: **_Sophia the Darumaka, Female, Serious nature, Often dozes off.

_**Deaths: **_None.

_**Boxed:**_ None.

* * *

**Author's Note: **My own voicecanon for Sophia would have to be none other than Roz Ryan (plays Cake the Cat, Witch Lezah, and Bubbie the Whale). Also, when I finish this Nuzlocke story, I might start writing little snippet stories about the characters in this Nuzlocke and my White 1 game! So with that, stay tuned for Chapter 13!


	13. Hijinks in the Shining City!

**Author's Note: **I'm only two chapters away from this being my longest story ever (at the moment)! Like I said back in Chapter 2, I don't like portraying Bianca's dad as being an asshole, so I didn't! I hope you guys can still enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

At the Pokémon Musical entrance, I saw Bianca waving to me. Elated, she tugged me by the wrist, and guided me inside the building. There, we were happily greeted by an old man wearing a brown suit and hat.

"Greeting, ladies," the old man greeted, "My name is Michael, and I am the owner of this theater!"

"Nice to meet you," I said, "What do people do at the Pokémon Musical Theater anyways?"

"It's simple: Trainers come here to dress up their Pokémon, and said Pokémon perform onstage!"

"Why don't we try dressing up our Pokémon for the first time, Hynden?" Bianca suggested, "Come on, what do you say?"

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," I replied.

"Splendid!" Michael beamed, "Now, who's going to dress up?"

I thought for a minute until Bianca (my Petilil) decided to step forward and volunteer.

"I'd like to dress up," she tried to say to Michael, "After all, Petilil are known for looking fabulous!"

"Aww, what's that little Petilil?" Michael asked, "Would you like to dress up for us?"

"Well, yeah, that's what I said," Bianca retorted, "Are you deaf or something?"

"Um, she said she'd like to dress up," I said, a bit uneasily. "Remember, Bianca, the only one who knows what you're saying right now is me."

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot."

Using my new Prop Case, I dressed Bianca in a cute little leaf skirt, and topped it with a matching leaf tiara. All three of us gazed with awe at my newly dressed up Pokémon.

"Absolutely marvelous!" Michael exclaimed, "You two are free to enter a Musical at anytime!"

"We'll keep that in mind!" both of us said.

"Ciao!" Michael said as he walked away.

"The Musical sounds really cool!" Bianca said, "But, Nimbasa City's full of a whole bunch of wonderful sights!"

"So, what do you want to do?" I asked.

"I don't know! For now, I think I'm going to go see more of the city!"

With my Petilil on my shoulder, Bianca and I walked out of the Musical building. However, Bianca stopped dead in her tracks as we both saw a familiar man with short brown hair wearing a sky blue sweater and dark colored pants.

"Ah, there you are, Bianca!" he said.

"D-Daddy?! How did you even get here?" Bianca exclaimed.

"Your mother told me that you'd have made it to Nimbasa City by now. Come on, pumpkin, I'm taking you home!"

"What?! I can't go home now! My journey's not over yet!"

"Well now it is. Bianca, it's not safe for you to be out in the world yet! I need to take you home so you won't get hurt!"

"But Mr. Bianca's Dad," I said, "If your daughter's made it this far, then don't you think she's strong enough to be on her own journey?"

"Hynden, please," Bianca's Dad assured me, "This is between us. I'm kindly asking you to leave it to me."

"No, she's right," a voice said.

A beautiful, slender-looking woman with blonde hair and pale blue eyes walked toward us. Judging by her choice of clothing that matched an Electric-type Pokémon's, I could only assume that she was the city Gym Leader.

"Excuse me, who're you?" Bianca's Dad asked.

"My name is Elesa, and I'm the Gym Leader of Nimbasa City," she explained. "Listen, my girl, in this world, there may be days where you'll suffer the most intense pain, and the most shattering despair."

"See, even she says so!" Bianca's Dad said.

"But, the most important thing to do is to never give up, and to keep moving forward!" Elesa continued. "If you keep trying, then your dream is bound to come true! So you see, sir, it's okay to worry about your daughter, but as long as she has her Pokémon by her side, she can accomplish anything!"

"So, what do you say, Daddy? Will you let me stay on my journey?" Bianca pleaded, "Please?"

"...Well, alright, dear," Bianca's Dad agreed, "I'll let you keep your journey up."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Bianca squealed, hugging her dad.

"After all, you have truly blossomed into quite a Trainer. Just promise me you'll try to visit home every once in a while."

"I will!"

"Just don't let me hear that you've been flaunting around with any boys, ya hear? Especially not that Cheren kid you're always hanging around..."

"Daddy!" Bianca cried, "I'll be fine!"

"Alright alright. Take care now, sweetie! And good luck!"

While we watched Bianca's Dad walk home, Elesa lurched over to talk to both of us.

"I hope I didn't meddle or anything," Elesa said, "You and your friend looked like you were in a bit of a pickle, so I just wanted to help."

"Nah, you actually did us a favor!" I assured, "If you hadn't come along, Bianca might have had to leave!"

"So, thanks so much!" Bianca said.

"If you two wanna come by and challenge the Nimbasa Gym later on, I'll be waiting!" Elesa said.

"We will, Miss Elesa!" Bianca exclaimed, "I'm gonna go train right now!"

I was about to walk off too, but before I could go anywhere, Elesa quickly stopped me by putting a finger on the part of my jacket that wasn't sticky or sandy.

"Dear, you can't go around with your clothes and hair all messy like that," Elesa said, "Follow me."

Elesa took me to a place which turned out to be her dressing room (she told me she was also a model). Over a span of an hour and a half, I was completely clean, and there was no sign of any honey or sand. My hair was put into a single french braid, and I was wearing a sea green tank top with light blue lines that formed a big "Y", thigh-length shorts colored two shades of cobalt, dark rose colored sandals, and a thick bright red headband on my forehead.

"There, now you look absolutely dazzling!" Elesa beamed.

"Thanks for the makeover, Miss Elesa," I said, "I thought I'd never- oh no!"

"What's wrong?"

"M-My necklace, where is it?!"

Panicking, I jerked my head around to search for my precious necklace. A wave of relief washed over me as I finally found it on the floor. I gently rubbed the necklace to my cheek before putting it back on.

"Are you alright, Hynden?" Elesa asked me, "You seem to be crying."

"What?" I said, feeling a few tears trickling down my face. "Oh, yeah I'm fine."

"Well, if you insist. I hope you challenge me soon!"

"Don't worry, I will!" I declared, boldly, "I'm gonna get that next badge!"

I left Elesa's dressing room to go prepare for my next Gym challenge. Suddenly, I felt myself step on something. I looked down to see a Sun Stone. Bianca began to bounce on my shoulder excitedly as she saw what I picked up.

"Hynden, that's a Sun Stone isn't it?!" Bianca exclaimed.

"Um, yeah. Is there a problem?" I asked.

"Hynden, we Petilil evolve with a Sun Stone! I can finally become a Lilligant!"

"What?! Why didn't you say so? Do you want to evolve now?"

"Well, duh! Otherwise, I wouldn't be so excited, now would I?"

I knelt down and placed the stone against Bianca's head. Both her and the Sun Stone began to glow, and I saw Bianca grow slightly taller and a bit bulkier. She started to grow what looked like a pair of arms, and a large flower bloomed on top of her head. The Sun Stone grew darker and eventually shattered into pieces. I was truly amazed by what Bianca looked like once her evolutionary light dimmed down. According to my Pokédex, she was now a Lilligant.

"Now I don't have to literally keep using my head to battle!" Bianca exclaimed, excitedly, "Seriously, those really hurt!"

"Alright, now we can go train and battle Elesa!"

Once I returned Bianca to her Pokéball, I went to the woods area east of the Pokémon Musical building. I decided to train Gummy and Toothie to battle Elesa. Toothie encountered a Pokémon named Solosis, and attempted to fight it. But, she suddenly felt herself being levitated into the air.

"Hey, let her go!" Gummy exclaimed as he used Crunch on the Solosis.

Toothie began to fall to the ground, but Gummy caught her in his arms just in time. The very move made Toothie blush like crazy, but Gummy quickly put her down.

"You okay, Toothie?" Gummy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Toothie said, trying to get rid of the red in her cheeks. "But right now, we need to defeat that stupid Solosis!"

Gummy and Toothie charged at the Solosis, and attacked it at the same time. As Toothie was about to give one last blow, the Solosis gave out a loud cough. All three of us decided to rush over and help it as we saw it cough out a certain amount of blood.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah..." it said in a soft voice, "I'm okay, I think."

"We didn't think we punched you _that_ hard!" Toothie said, "Sorry, I guess."

"Oh, I'm not coughing from the impact," Solosis explained as it gave another deadly cough, "I just have a little condition, and I get sick rather easily."

The three of us scratched our heads with utter guilt. I carefully picked up the Solosis, and held it in my arms.

"I can take you to the Pokémon Center," I insisted, "They can treat you very well."

"Really?" Solosis asked, "That sounds- _ACK ACK_!"

I frantically rushed back to Nimbasa, and burst through the Pokémon Center door. A few of the Audino took Solosis from my arms, and put it on a mini Pokémon cart. I decided to check into a room for the night as I prayed for Solosis to be okay.

The next morning, I went down to the front desk to ask about Solosis. I was absolutely relieved to hear her tell me that they've successfully treated it. An Audino wheeled Solosis to me, and it levitated itself to my chest. I walked out of the Pokémon Center, and returned to Route 16.

"Thank Arceus you're okay," I said, "Do you have a name by any chance?"

"Yeah, it's Lola," Solosis replied, "And you're name is Hynden, right?"

"Yes. Listen, Lola, I'm sorry about yesterday's little endeavor."

"It's okay," Lola said, coughing a little bit, "It's not like you would've known. And Hynden, I heard you're going to face Elesa soon. Can I help you with your battle?"

"I don't know, Lola. I mean, you're not in the kind of condition to fight."

"Oh am I?"

Lola was soon surrounded by multiple bright orbs, and violently released them onto a nearby Trubbish, critically knocking it out. I stood there mouthing a gape at Lola's surprising strength.

"That's the most awesome Hidden Power I've seen yet!" I exclaimed, "You're in!"

"Yay! My first Gym battle!" Lola cried, excitedly. "_AHACK_! Oops, I shouldn't get so excited!"

I carefully put a Pokéball to Lola's face, sending her in as a red beam of light. It shook three times before finally clicking shut. But, once Lola was officially captured, I saw Ruffle's Pokéball vanish into thin air.

"What the heck?!" I cried, "Ruffle's gone!"

"Xtransceiver is currently set to 'Automatic Box mode'," my Xtransceiver said.

"Well, that explains it," I thought. "Well, I might as well start training everyone for my battle."

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained:**_ Lola the Solosis, Female, Docile nature, Likes to fight.

**_Deaths: _**None.

_**Boxed: **_Ruffle the Tranquill.

* * *

**Author's Note:** You guys will find out what's so special about Hynden's necklace probably when we reach Mistralton City or so. And, I wanted Lola to be a bit of an Ill Girl (it's a trope), but still have the competence to fight! Another thing: I'll probably post what Hynden looks like in this story (pre-White 2) on my profile soon (I used the Pokémon Trainer creator because my laziness said so).


	14. Ultimate form of Shock Humor! (VS Elesa)

**Author's Note:** Sorry guys, I had trouble writing out the last part of the Gym Battle... But now, Chapter 14 is finally up! Also, I'm a little sorry for the one long amount of text Lola says later on, but I couldn't think of any way else to write it. So with that, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

Lola had significantly improved over the next eleven days. At first—despite her powerful Hidden Power move—her opponent was either too strong for the move to be effective, or she'd leave her guard down because of another coughing fit. But over time, I had seen her learn new moves, and she was able to take down opponents much easier.

"Alright, Lola!" I exclaimed, "Use Psyshock on the Minccino!"

The attack managed to leave a large impact on Minccino, but it managed to stay strong. It used its Tickle attack to catch Lola off her guard. Lola began to laugh so hard that she unleashed a loud cough onto Minccino.

"You'd better watch who you cough on, you little freak," Minccino said, threateningly. "I thought your kind would've learned by now never to show yourselves on Route 16!"

"_EH-HACK_! What do you plan on doing to me?" Lola coughed, afraid.

"Something the rest of us respectable Pokémon should have done along with the other two a long time ago!"

"N-No! Stop!"

Suddenly, multiple bolts of energy shot out of nowhere and fatally pierced Minccino in the chest. I could only stand there in shock, horror, and surprise as the Minccino crashed to the ground, its blood spilling everywhere.

"Lola..." I said, "What was that?!"

"I think I just used a Future Sight attack," she said, slightly uneasily.

Several pink waves of psychic energy began to envelope around Lola. Her body shape grew wider and more bubbly. Once she had finished evolving, my Pokédex identified Lola as a Duosion.

"Hey, look who finally evolved!" I exclaimed.

"You're right! I'm a Duosion now!" Lola beamed. "And now, **IT'S TIME TO KILL THOSE BASTARDS WHO SAW ME AS A DOORMAT!**"

My eyes widened at Lola's sudden change in personality. One minute she was sweet and a bit bubbly, and the next, she talked like some kind of psychopath.

"Um, Lola," I asked, "Are you okay?"

"**DON'T ASK SUCH A STUPID QUESTION, OF COURSE I'M OKAY!**" Lola bellowed. "O-Oops, sorry about that! I mean, yes, I'm alright, Hynden."

I took another look at my Pokédex, and it told me that once a Solosis becomes Duosion, it's brain splits into two different personalities. Once I decided to wrap up training, Lola and I headed back to Nimbasa City to buy items for the Gym Battle.

"Hey Lola, can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure, why not?" Lola responded.

"I know it's probably none of my business, but what did that Minccino mean when he called you a freak, and mentioned an 'other two'?"

My heart slightly clenched as I saw Lola shudder tearfully at my question. But, she took a deep breath, and spoke to me.

"Well, around Route 16, everyone sees the Solosis evolutionary line as nothing but a bunch of freaks," Lola started, "and my parents and I were definitely no exceptions."

"Why didn't they like you guys?" I asked.

"You don't see very many Psychic-types around these parts, and everyone hated us for being so unique. When I was just a little Solosis, all of the kids would stop at nothing to hurt me. I'd always come home crying, but my mom would just tell me that everyone was jealous that we had so much potential. Everything wasn't as bad after that...until that one night."

"That one night?"

"Yes, the one night I could never forget even if I tried!" Lola choked as tears rushed down her face. "My parents and I were getting ready to go to sleep for the night, when all of a sudden, two Liepard broke into our habitat. My mom and dad hid me away from the Liepard, and tried to fend them off for as long as they could. But eventually, the two Liepard had them gripped by their necks! J-Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I heard the sound of my parents' screams! I peeked from my hiding spot only to see the two Liepard using multiple Pursuit attacks to cut my parents' bodies to death! T-They tried to kill me too, but I somehow defended myself with a sudden Hidden Power attack!"

As soon as Lola finished her tragic story, she broke down in tears, and buried her head into my chest. I rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down, but judging by her violent coughs, it didn't seem to be working at all.

"Hynden, it's my fault!" Lola bawled, "It's my fault my mommy and daddy are dead! I should have been stronger to protect them! I should have just died along with them!"

"Lola, don't say that," I assured in my most soothing tone, "Believe me, I've been there. I know what it's like to lose someone dear to you, and feeling like you weren't strong enough to save them. And you know, I've been through it more than once."

"A-Are you sure I didn't deserve to just die with them?" Lola sniffed.

"Of course I'm sure. As long as you remember them fondly, they'll always be a part of you."

"Thanks, Hynden. That makes me feel much better. I mean, the pain of losing my parents still hurts a lot, but I want to remember them in a way that makes me happy."

"There you go, Lola!" I said, happily.

"Now come on!" Lola exclaimed, "**WE'VE GOT SOME SERIOUS ASS TO KI—** I mean, we've got a Gym Battle to fight!"

I dashed back to the amusement park with Lola. I noticed a sign near a brightly decorated building that said "Nimbasa City Gym". Eager, I carefully walked inside, relieved that no one had bumped into me that time. Inside, I found myself staring at a giant roller coaster. The Clyde for the Nimbasa Gym had told me that in order to get to Elesa, I had to ride the coaster.

"I'm not really much of a roller coaster person," I thought, "But, anything to get to the main Gym floor!"

The car of the roller coaster started to move slowly toward a tall ramp. Once it reached the peak, it rapidly dashed down and all across the Gym. I hollered with both terror and surprise at the velocity of the ride. My screams got even louder at the large loop, and I finally calmed down once the ride stopped.

"Glad you could make it here, Hynden!" Elesa greeted.

"That roller coaster moves _fast_!" I panted between breaths, "Are you ready to battle, Elesa?"

"You know it! I want to see your Pokémon shine!" Elesa exclaimed. "Emolga, take the stage!"

After scanning the new Pokémon with my Pokédex, I called Lola out of her Pokéball. Lola's first move was Future Sight, which only made Emolga shudder.

"Emolga, use Volt Switch!" Elesa called.

Emolga changed its form to a small ball of electric energy, and knocked Lola to the ground. It then went back to its Pokéball, and another Emolga was sent out.

"Lola, use Psyshock!" I cried.

Emolga was sent flying backwards, but it slowly managed to push itself back up. It attacked with an Aerial Ace attack, critically knocking Lola down. Worried, I called Lola back to her Pokéball, and sent Gummy out to the battlefield.

"Gummy, use Crunch!" I yelled.

Gummy sank his teeth into Emolga's "wing", causing it to cry out in pain. Emolga tried to fly away, but Gummy knocked it unconscious with another Bite attack.

"Both of you are shining brilliantly!" Elesa beamed as she sent Emolga back, "But I won't give up so easily!"

I sent Gummy back the moment the other Emolga from before came back out. I summoned Lola from her Pokéball, and sprayed her with a Super Potion to help her regain her strength.

"Emolga, use Pursuit!" Elesa cried.

Before Lola could even think to dodge the attack, Emolga quickly had her knocked to the ground. I saw a look of fear and terror in Lola's eyes as she made contact with the floor, as if she had just relived a bad memory. However, just as Emolga was about to finish Lola off, Lola had unleashed a Hidden Power attack. The blast was strong enough to knock out Emolga in one blow.

"Lola, what happened?" I asked, "You look terrified!"

"Sorry, but when that Pursuit attack hit me, all those memories of that one night just came swarming back to me," Lola explained. "But, I think I'm alright now."

"I think you should get some rest," I suggested, sending Lola back to her Pokéball. "Alright Toothie, it's your turn!"

Once Toothie had taken the stage, Elesa sent out her final Pokémon called Zebstrika.

"With every victory comes a little bit of peril," Elesa chirped, "Zebstrika, use Spark!"

Zebstrika's lightning bolt-shaped horn began to crackle until it was fully charged with electricity. It then released a powerful surge of energy that severely damaged Toothie. Toothie slowly stood up, but clutched her body in slight pain. Looking closely, I noticed she had a growing paralysis.

"Toothie, try and weaken Zebstrika with Super Fang!" I cried.

Despite her struggling, Toothie left quite a critical bite mark on Zebstrika's side. Crying out in pain, Zebstrika began to rapidly stomp its hooves.

"Zebstrika, finish with Flame Charge!" Elesa shouted.

Suddenly, Zebstrika's hooves began to ignite. Panicking as she saw Zebstrika charge towards her engulfed in flames, Toothie tried desperately to evade the attack. Unfortunately, her paralysis had fully kicked in by then. Zebstrika slammed its horn into Toothie's right arm, making her cry out in utter agony.

"Gahh!" Toothie hollered, "My damn arm!"

Toothie tried to move her damaged right arm, but I shuddered as I only heard it crack. She clutched it to slow down the pain. Realizing she could no longer attack, Toothie clenched her eyes shut as she waited for Zebstrika's final attack. Suddenly, I saw the same blue energy bolts from before fire into Zebstrika's body. Already weakened from Toothie's Super Fang attack, Zebstrika fainted.

"A Future Sight?" I thought. "Oh, now I remember! Lola had used it right after the battle started!"

"My my, I must say your battling style is one of the best I've ever seen!" Elesa exclaimed, "For your victory, I present you with the Bolt Badge!"

I was about to give Toothie a fist bump, but I stopped as I remembered her damaged arm. After I put the Bolt Badge in my Badge Case, I carefully took a look at Toothie's arm. No matter what part of it I touched, Toothie always winced in agony.

"Damn it!" Toothie cried, "I think it's broken or something!"

"Oh my, your Watchog's arm looks terrible," Elesa said. "Tell you what: I want you to meet me at Route 5 after you get your Pokémon's arm looked at."

"Yes ma'am," I agreed.

Once I walked out of the Gym door, I rushed Toothie to the Pokémon Center. The Nurse Joy of Nimbasa City said that Toothie had a major arm fracture, and said that she couldn't battle until it got better.

"Why don't you put your Pokémon into the PC Box for a while until her arm is fixed?" Nurse Joy suggested.

"...Alright," I said, hesitantly.

"What?! Hynden, you can't do this to me!" Toothie cried.

"I'm sorry, Toothie. But I can't let you battle with an arm like that," I said, pointing to her newly casted arm.

"If you box me, then I— I can't battle alongside Gummy anymore!"

"Look, you won't be boxed for long. I promise!" I assured. "Once your arm is better, you can come back with us! So please, rest up your arm for a while, okay?"

"...Fine," Toothie pouted, "But **only** for a little while!"

"Good," I said as Toothie disappeared to the PC in a beam of light.

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained:**_ None.

_**Deaths: **_None.

_**Boxed: **_Toothie the Watchog

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, we're only halfway through the League! As I'm typing this, I'm trying to work on Chapter 15, so stay tuned!


	15. Onwards to Driftveil City!

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Sorry for not updating, I recently caught the flu, and felt a bit lethargic for a bit! I also couldn't get much luck getting on my computer (not even on my birthday which was on the 30th), but here's Chapter 15 at last! And on another note, this is now my longest story at this point in time! So, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Toothie, I hastily walked out of the Pokémon Center. Just as I was about to head in Route 5's direction, I spotted Cheren near the Ferris Wheel holding a bouquet of red roses. Curious, I walked toward his direction.

"Hiya, Cheren!" I greeted, "Are you waiting for someone?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Cheren replied, "But I'm not telling you who."

"Why not? Don't want me to spoil your _date_?" I teased.

"Hynden, y-you are being such a bother right now!" Cheren snapped, blushing.

"Aw come on, Cheren, just tell me who you're waiting for! I promise I won't say a thing!"

"...Fine, you win. I-I'm... I'm waiting for Bianca to show up."

"BIANCA?!" I exclaimed.

"Shh! Be quiet, or you might make a scene!" Cheren said, covering my mouth. "Yes, I'm waiting for Bianca."

"I knew it, you _do_ like Bianca!" I teased.

"N-No!" Cheren retorted as his face turned bright red, "We're just going on the Ferris Wheel as good friends!"

"Cheren, get real. No guy comes to an amusement park with a bouquet of red roses to be 'just friends' with a girl he likes. Admit it, you're on a date with Bianca."

Before Cheren could think of a comeback, we both saw Bianca running closer to us. Cheren quickly composed himself and straightened his glasses.

"Hi Cheren! Sorry I'm late again!" Bianca said.

"It's fine, Bianca," Cheren insisted. "I um, want to give you these."

"Aww, thanks!" Bianca said, taking the roses. "Hey Hynden, do you want to ride the Ferris Wheel with me and Cheren?"

"No thanks, I've already been on it. Besides, Miss Elesa told me to meet her at Route 5, and I can't let her down," I explained. "Besides, would having me along ruin your little _date_?"

"Hmm?" Bianca asked, confused, "Date? What do you mean date? Cheren and I are just having fun today as great friends! Right Cheren?"

"Y-Yes, as just... _great friends_," Cheren hissed. I noticed he said the last part with a mix of venom and disappointment.

"Well, you two have fun! I'm on my way to Driftveil City!" I said, as I scampered off.

Once I left the amusement park, I remembered the gift that the Daycare Man gave me. Grinning, I pressed the red button on its remote, and my motorbike unfolded from my bag. I excitedly put on my helmet as I hopped onto the bike.

"Alright, here we go!" I thought.

However, when I started up the bike's motor, it went at a nearly uncontrollable speed. Screaming, I gripped onto the handlebars, and steered the bike in Route 5's direction. Once I arrived, I quickly squeezed the brakes on one of the handlebars, making me come to a complete halt.

"Whoa..." I panted, "I gotta learn how to drive this thing."

"Hynden, wait up!"

I turned around to see Cheren trying to catch up with me.

"Cheren, what are you doing here?" I asked. "Aren't you supposed to be with Bianca at the Ferris Wheel?"

"A Ferris Wheel ride isn't that long, you know," Cheren said, "Besides, Bianca said she had to go somewhere. Hmph, I didn't even get to tell her... Anyways, I would like to battle you again! We both just recently got the Bolt Badge, so we should be equally matched!"

Knowing Cheren, he wouldn't leave me alone until I said yes to his battle. As Cheren sent out his newly-evolved Liepard, I decided to call Sophia out to battle. Liepard managed to catch Sophia off guard with a Fake Out attack, leaving Sophia to startled to attack.

"Liepard, use Fury Swipes while it's guard is down!" Cheren called.

Sophia screeched in pain as she felt multiple claw swipes upon her small body.

"Sophia, knock Liepard off with Fire Punch!" I ordered.

And just like that, Liepard was knocked to the ground with Sopia's Fire Punch attack. Liepard pushed itself up to fight some more.

"Great job, now use—" I started. Before I was about to say Sophia's next attack, I noticed she had curled up into her ball form, and was sleeping. "Gahh! Wake up, Sophia! We're in the middle of a battle!"

"Hmm, having a Pokémon with narcolepsy can lead to a disadvantage," Cheren commented. "Liepard, attack with Pursuit!"

As soon as she felt the attack, Sophia woke up in a flash. I told her to finish Liepard off with a Fire Fang attack, and she had critically made her opponent faint. Once we sent our Pokémon back to rest, I sent out Gummy, and Cheren sent out his Dewott.

"Dewott, attack with Razor Shell!" Cheren cried.

"Gummy, dodge and use Assurance!" I retorted.

Although Gummy tried to dodge Dewott's attack, he still managed to get cut by the aquatic blade. He quickly countered with two Assurance attacks, and Dewott fell to the ground with a thud. Cheren then sent out his Pansear to battle next. Pansear's attacks didn't do much damage to Gummy since he was part Ground-type, so Gummy made quick work of it with a few Mud-Slaps.

"I see you're still quite strong, Hynden," Cheren remarked. "I've got one last Pokémon, and then we'll see who's stronger!"

Cheren's final Pokémon was a Tranquill. Normally, I would have sent out Ruffle to see who was better, but since he was boxed away in the PC, I returned Gummy back to his Pokéball, and sent out Piko (despite the disadvantage).

"Alright, Piko! Use Flame Charge!" I ordered.

Piko began to stomp his feet all around. As the stomping picked up speed, Piko was engulfed in flames and charged straight into Tranquill. Then, he ended the battle with some simple Arm Thrust attacks.

"Will there ever come a day where I'll be able to defeat you, Hynden?" Cheren sighed.

"Ah, there you are, Hynden!" Elesa said as she walked up to me. "Oh, is this your friend?"

"Yes, his name is Cheren," I replied. "So, why did you want me to wait here?"

"Oh right, well follow me!" Elesa chirped.

As Cheren and I walked in her direction, we were stopped by an adult man with wild red hair, and appeared to be wearing his Pokéballs around his neck.

"Hello, Elesa!" The man exclaimed.

"Oh, good afternoon, Alder!" Elesa responded. "Guys, this is Alder, he's Unova's current Champion!"

"T-The Champion?!" Cheren exclaimed, excitedly. "H-He's here? Right now? In the very same spot as me?!"

"That's right, young man!" Alder said, "Are you and your girlfriend on a journey?"

"G-Girlfriend?!" I sputtered, "I'm not his girlfriend!"

"Um, Alder sir! My name is Cheren, and this is my _friend_ Hynden. Yes, we are on a Pokémon journey, but not together!"

"Oh, so you're Hynden!" Alder exclaimed. "Your mother; she's Johto's Champion, isn't she?"

"Yes sir, she is," I responded, "But since we moved to Unova, Lance has been handling most of the Champion stuff."

"Is she at home right now?" Alder asked.

"Sadly, no," I said, "She and Dad gave me a call last week saying that they're going to be in Johto for 2-3 months because of 'Champion and Frontier Brain business'."

I tried my best to hide the slight tone of resentment in that last part, but it didn't seem to work.

"Ah yes, that is important stuff," Alder said, "And what about you, young man? What do you plan on doing on your journey?"

"Well, Alder sir," Cheren explained, "I aim to become Unova's next Champion. Before I can achieve that goal, I must become stronger!"

"Hmm, you say you only wish to possess great strength. But, that's not all there is to being Champion. Another part of being Champion is loving your Pokémon dearly! Sarah, Billy, could you come over here and demonstrate by battling these two?"

Two cute little kids with Herdiers shyly walked over to us. I decided to use Bianca for battling, and Cheren sent out his Liepard. Much to my surprise, the children actually put up quite a fight, but Cheren and I eventually won in the end.

"Wow, you guys are strong!" Billy remarked.

"I hope my brother and I battle you again someday!" Sarah exclaimed.

"You two may not have won, but your Herdiers looked like they were enjoying the battle!" Alder said. "So you see, Cheren, there are some people who do love to be strong trainers, but others are also just happy with being beside their Pokémon. You're still young, so you've got a lot of time to decide your goals and how you're going to get there."

"Come along, you two," Elesa said, "The Driftveil Drawbridge is now open, and you can go to your next destination for your next badge!"

Just as I was about to follow Cheren and Elesa, I felt my shorts being tugged by something. I looked down to see a Minccino staring at me with anticipating eyes.

"Oh, um hi there," I greeted.

"Hello dear," Minccino said, "My name is Stella. I saw how you battled that boy and those two children, and I was wondering if I could join you."

"Well, I do only have five Pokémon on hand, so I know you won't be boxed right away... okay!"

I pressed the tip of a Pokéball to Stella's little nose, and she was caught without struggle. Remembering that Elesa and Cheren were waiting at the drawbridge, I rushed to catch up with them.

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained: **_Stella the Minccino, Female, Gentle nature, Good perseverance

_**Deaths: **_None.

_**Boxed: **_None.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't know if it's possible to stay Champion if you move to another region, but I tried to make it that way (so sue me). Anyways, stay tuned for Chapter 16 where we finally go to Driftveil City! And I want to wish all of my readers a Happy New Year!


	16. Colder than Death Itself!

**Author's Note:** Hiya guys! Sorry for not updating, I had to study for my midterms, and I also got myself grounded... But after a long long waiting, here's chapter 16! And, I just want to take a moment to thank the following users for reading my story: **WildCroconaw**, **Arrow Ridari**, and **Crimson Colbat**! You guys are the best! I also want to thank whoever is following my story as well! It's you guys who keep my motivation flowing!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon

* * *

Once I caught up with Elesa and Cheren, I noticed the Driftveil Drawbridge was still up. Elesa dialed someone on her Xtransceiver to lower the bridge.

"Hello?" Elesa said, "Yeah, it's me, Elesa. Can you lower the bridge, please? I've got two trainers here waiting to get their next badges. Thanks."

And just like that, the two ends of the drawbridge lowered down enough to meet each other.

"Listen, kids," Elesa warned us, "Once you meet Clay, he may be a little, erm, _rough_ around the edges. So, try not to get too angry about whatever he says, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Cheren and I agreed in unison.

"Good. Now, I'll leave you two to your journeys. Best wishes to both of you!"

"Bye, Miss Elesa!" Cheren and I said.

Once Elesa went back to Nimbasa City, Cheren reminded me once again about his goal to become the strongest Champion of the Unova region, and went ahead across the bridge. Hopping back on my motorbike, I popped my helmet onto my head, and unstably drove the bike. I zipped all the way across the bridge, but I suddenly stopped when a small object slammed against my windshield. The object had appeared to be some sort of blue duck Pokémon.

"Oh no!" I cried, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," it said, "I'm fine. A little bruised, but I'm fine."

I checked my Pokédex to see what the name of the Pokémon I had hit was. It was called a Ducklett.

"Hey, I'm really sorry I hit you," I said, sincerely.

"It's okay, really," Ducklett insisted.

"Well, to make it up to you, do you want to tag along with us?" I asked.

"What do you mean 'tag along' with you guys? Are you on a journey?"

"Yes, we are. We're on the Pokémon League challenge!"

"Well, as long as you promise not to run me over again, I guess I wouldn't mind coming with you guys!"

"It's a deal then!" I exclaimed, "My name's Hynden, what's yours?"

"Jesse; it's nice to meet you!" Jesse greeted.

"Stella, you wouldn't mind being boxed into the PC for now, would you?" I asked.

"But you just caught me, Hynden!" Stella complained, "Besides, what if I want to battle the gyms as well?"

"Did I forget to mention that the Gym Leader of Driftveil uses _Ground_-type Pokémon?" Jesse added.

"...On second thought, maybe being boxed isn't so bad after all!" Stella said, panicking. "Hynden, what are you waiting for, box me before it's too late!"

"Okay, okay!" I cried as Stella disappeared into a beam of light once I boxed her using my Xtransceiver. "Jesse, what was all that about? What's Stella got against Ground-types?"

"Oh, that. Well, Most Minccino and Cinccino are known for being neat-freaks, and absolutely _hate _unclean things like dirt and stuff."

"Well, that explains it."

To make Jesse's joining the team official, I placed a Pokéball on top of his head, and he was caught instantly. Once the Pokéball clicked shut, I got back onto my bike. Trying to drive more steadily, I finally made my way to the city boundaries. When I saw Cheren near a man wearing brown clothes and a white cowboy hat, I quickly pulled the brakes on my bike. I pressed the folding button on my bike's remote, and stood beside Cheren.

"Hmph! Y'all must be the youngins Elesa was talkin' about!" The man said, "Name's Clay, and I'm the Gym Leader of the Driftveil City Gym!"

"It's nice to meet you, Clay!" I greeted.

"Don't be expectin' a warm welcome from me!" Clay snapped, "Because of you two, the Plasma Grunts we caught had done escaped!"

"How is it our fault?!" I retorted.

"Elesa had to lower the bridge for ya, so we weren't lookin' when the criminals escaped!"

"Oh bother," Cheren groaned.

"Tah make up for screwin' up, you two gotta help us catch 'em again!"

"Heh, I guess we 'gotta catch 'em all' then!" I thought.

"If you two strong trainers manage to catch them Plasma Grunts, I'll let y'all challenge my Gym!" Clay said as he walked off.

"Well, what are we waiting for, Hynden?" Cheren asked, "I'm not going to get stronger by just standing here!"

Cheren and I spent nearly an hour traversing the city in an attempt to look for any Team Plasma Grunts. Unfortunately, there was no sign of them. Just as Cheren was about to call of the chase, I suggested we check out a place that was called the Cold Storage. With Cheren behind me, I dashed to the targeted building.

"Do you really think Team Plasma is in here?" Cheren groaned. "Cold places really aren't my forte, but I guess we could check here."

"They've gotta be in here!" I assured, "We've checked every place in Driftveil except here!"

"Such a bother," Cheren complained.

"Cheren, stop being such a whiny baby, and just help me look!" I snapped.

Before heading inside, I reached into my bag and pulled out my dark pink winter coat. Cheren put on his own winter coat as I did the same.

"Alright, let's go," Cheren said.

I was glad I had put on my winter coat; the inside of the Cold Storage was _freezing_. There were quite a lot of large boxes, so Cheren and I decided to split up and message the other when Team Plasma was found. When I took the first step into the room, I found myself rapidly sliding forward.

"WOOOOAAAAHHHH!" I shrieked.

My butt harshly crashed into one of the boxes. Tearfully rubbing my injured bottom, I called Piko and Sophia out of their Pokéballs for assistance.

"What do you need, Hynden?" Piko and Sophia asked.

"I need you two—" I stopped as I noticed Sophia had fallen asleep again. "Soph, wake up!"

"Hmm?!" Sophia yawned, "Sorry, I'm just tired."

"What else is new?" I said, "Anyways, I need you two to melt the ground so I don't slip on it."

"You got it!" Piko and Sophia agreed.

Piko used his Ember attack to clear a path while Sophia assisted with her Incinerate move. The two walked in front of me so I could walk on the new path. I kept telling the two Fire-types which way I think we should go. We climbed up every latter (which Piko and Sophia were careful not to burn), and searched high and low. Our search came to an end when I heard voices coming from inside on of the large storage boxes.

"Thanks, guys," I said as I sent Piko and Sophia back to their Pokéballs.

I dialed up Cheren on my Xtransceiver, and told him where I was. He hastily made his way over to the same storage box as me. We both barged right into the box, and much to our relief, we found a bunch of Team Plasma Grunts huddled altogether.

"Not so fast, Team Plasma!" Cheren and I hollered.

"G-Gah!" A man in the center of the huddle screeched, "W-Who are you kids?!"

"That's none of your concern," Cheren said.

"Well, if you two aren't going to tell me your names, then we'll just go ahead and ambush you! Plasma Grunts, attack!"

"W-With pleasure, S-Seven Sage Z-Zinzolin!" One Plasma Grunt shivered.

"Hynden, you take on that side, and I'll take this side!" Cheren exclaimed.

"I thought you'd never ask," I said.

The first Plasma Grunt I took on sent out her Liepard. I decided to battle using Bianca. Liepard harshly attacked Bianca with its Fury Swipes attack, but Bianca critically countered with a Stun Spore. Liepard tried to move, but the paralysis took effect rapidly. Internally grinning with pleasure, Bianca took the Liepard down with a single Magical Leaf attack.

"What the hell? You're still too strong to beat!" the Plasma Grunt exclaimed. "Achoo! S-Someone take out this r-runt and f-fast!"

I soon found myself being challenged by a male Plasma Grunt with a Watchog. Once I returned Bianca to her Pokéball, I sent out Lola to take it out. Watchog actually managed to catch Lola off of her guard with a Super Fang attack, and again with Crunch. I panicked as Lola struggled to get up.

"Lola, u-use Psyschock and quickly!" I cried.

Before the Watchog could even think for a moment, Lola blasted it across the room with her commanded attack.

"Lola, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm— ACK-ACK!" Lola coughed, "I'm fine, Hynden. A little bruised, but fine!"

"Are you still good to fight?" I asked as I sprayed a Super Potion onto her wounds.

"Yeah. Besides, he just sent out a Scraggy, so **I'LL KILL IT WITH NO TROUBLE!**"

"Lola, your split personality's acting up again."

"Oops, sorry!"

Lola managed to critically weaken Scraggy with another Psyshock move. Scraggy slowly struggled to get up.

"Alright, Lola," I said, "Just another move, and it'll be totally down!"

"I don't think so, brat!" the Plasma Grunt said, cockily, "Scraggy, use Crunch!"

"What?!" I exclaimed, panicking.

Scraggy brutally sunk its teeth into Lola's gelatinous exterior. Tears started to form in my eyes as I heard Lola's blood curdling scream.

"Lola!" I cried.

"Scraggy, now finish with Payback!" the Plasma Grunt exclaimed.

"NOOO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Scraggy pounded its tiny fist into Lola's chest. My tears started to escape my eyes as I saw Lola cough up a great amount of blood. Jesse came out of his Pokéball on his own, and finished the Scraggy off as I rushed to Lola's side.

"Lola," I choked, "Please speak to me, say anything!"

"H-Hynden..." Lola whispered, "Is... Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me Lola!" I cried, "Dammit, I said I wouldn't let anymore of my teammates die after Eliza!"

"Hynden, I can see..." Lola coughed.

"What? W-What can you see, Lola?!" I tearfully asked.

"I can finally see... my parents..." Lola sighed, "I'm sorry, Hynden; I... I have to go now. Mommy and Daddy are calling me... to come home..."

"Lola? No, no Lola, not you too!" I sobbed.

Cheren came to my side in an effort to calm me down. I just gently shoved him away, telling him that I didn't need comfort right now.

"Hmph, absolutely pathetic," the Plasma Grunt who had killed Lola remarked.

"Excuse me?" I asked, angrily.

"It's quite a shame, really," the Plasma Grunt said coldly, "You let your own Pokémon die at your own hands, and you call yourself a Pokémon Trainer?"

I furiously jabbed the Grunt in the stomach as he spoke those words. Not caring about my actions, I punched his eye, clawed at his face, and even knocked out two of his teeth. Cheren had to restrain me from doing any further damage.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I hollered, "You just killed one of my friends! Cheren, let me go, this guy obviously needs a beat-down like no tomorrow!"

"Hynden, more violence won't solve anything," Cheren calmly said to me. "Look, I've already contacted Clay, so he should be here right about—"

Before Cheren could finish his sentence, Clay and a few other storage guys came into the room.

"Well, well," Clay remarked, "I'll be! You two actually found the criminals! Storage workers, take every Grunt outta here!"

"Yes sir!" one of the Workers replied.

As each of the Plasma Grunts (plus Zinzolin) were being tugged outside, Clay and Cheren inched closer toward me and Lola's body.

"What happened 'ere?" Clay asked.

"Those Plasma bastards killed one of Hynden's Pokémon," Cheren said.

"Ah, that's a shame," Clay said, "Listen, if y'all are still up for it, you two are welcome to challenge my Gym."

"Thanks, sir," I said, glumly.

"Hynden, are you coming?" Cheren asked as he began to follow Clay outside.

"I'll catch up, just go on ahead. I need to be alone right now," I responded.

"Alright, see you later," Cheren said as he walked off.

Still carrying Lola's corpse, I followed the still melted path to the exit. One of the workers offered to preserve Lola inside of the storage, but I decided to stick to a normal burial for her. I buried Lola in one of the outside parts of Cold Storage, and placed a nearby flower on her grave.

"Goodbye, Lola," I sniffed as I walked back to the city, "I hope you're finally happy up there with your parents."

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained:**_ Jesse the Ducklett, Male, Adamant nature, Alert to sounds.

_**Deaths:**_ Lola the Duosion, Lvl. 20-33

_**Boxed:**_ Stella the Minccino

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's been a while since the last death, so it's kind of a wake up call that this is a Nuzlocke, eh? I tried to make Lola's death as sad as possible (but I probably failed)! Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	17. My Most Critical Decision Yet!

**Author's Note:** I think this is my soonest update yet! Hey guys, yesterday I signed up for the Nuzlocke forums, and now you can read the story on there as well! I'll post a link to it on my profile as soon as possible! So without further ado, here's Chapter 17 (I know it's kind of short, but you can still enjoy it)!

* * *

Stuffing my winter coat back into my shoulder-bag, I somberly caught up with Cheren and Clay , who were standing in front of the Gym. My mood instantly shifted from depression to rage as I saw a group of Team Plasma Grunts and their leader Ghetsis.

"What are _they_ doing here, Cheren?!" I hissed.

"I don't know, but I think Clay's handling it," Cheren whispered.

"Well well well," Ghetsis said, "If it isn't Driftveil City's own Clay. It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, I believe you have some of my associates held captive."

"Well, thanks to yer associates, people's Pokémon were bein' captured for no reason!" Clay snapped.

"Nonsense," Ghetsis insisted, "We have a very good reason, and that's because Trainers are nothing but abusive, tyrannical swine."

"If anyone's the swine, it's you!" I screeched, "You guys are complete mon—mmph, phmph!" My sentence was cut short by Cheren covering my mouth with his hand.

"Hynden, please," Cheren whispered to me, "I know you're still upset about your Duosion, but try your best not to say something that will get us in a whole heap of trouble!"

"...Fine, I'll try," I said as hot tears began to fill my eyes.

"As I was saying," Ghetsis continued, "Team Plasma plans to save the Pokémon from being enslaved for selfish reasons! Now, I'm asking you again, release my associates."

"I'm not sure if y'all are lyin' or bein' honest, but I'll let 'em go off easy this time," Clay said as the Plasma Grunts walked to Ghetsis' side.

"A very wise decision," Ghetsis said, grinning sinisterly.

"Now, git! And y'all better not show your faces around here again!" Clay shouted.

"Very well then. Zinzilon, everybody, move out!" Ghetsis ordered.

"Sorry to let those Plasma Grunts go after y'all worked so hard to catch 'em," Clay said, apologizing to us. "Heck, maybe a Gym battle'll cheer you up! I'll be waitin'!"

Once Clay walked back into the Driftveil Gym, I immediately started walking in the other direction until Cheren caught up with me.

"Where are you going, Hynden?" Cheren asked, "Are you going to train for the Gym?"

"No, Cheren," I said, glumly, "I'm not challenging the Gym. Not now, not ever."

"What?!" Cheren exclaimed, shocked, "Why not?"

"If I challenge that Gym, I'm guaranteed to have another one of my Pokémon die at my hands again! And I'd never allow that to happen!"

"But, Hynden..."

"I'm sorry, Cheren; My mind's made up."

"Suit yourself," Cheren sighed, "But, I have a feeling you're going to change your mind one of these days."

As I continued to walk away from Cheren, Piko and Bianca automatically came out of their Pokéballs.

"Hynden, what's wrong with you?!" Piko exclaimed, "We've got to challenge the Gym! How are we going to get our 5th Gym Badge?"

"We're not," I said, "I'm going back to Nuvema Town tomorrow morning."

"What?!" Bianca shrieked, "You can't do that! We're so close to the League!"

"I don't care."

"Look, Hynden. Don't let Lola's death stop you from completing your Gym challenges!" Piko said, "You've always told me that you wanted to become a great Champion just like your mom!"

"Piko's right," Bianca agreed, "You just gotta keep moving forward!"

"But if I do move forward, what if one of you gets killed?! I can't risk that happening anymore!"

"Hynden..." Piko and Bianca whined.

"No more discussing," I said, firmly, "I'm going back home tomorrow, and that's final."

I returned Piko and Bianca to their Pokéballs. The sun was going down, so I decided to call it a day.

That night in my Pokémon Center room, I found myself lost in my thoughts again. The utter silence and feelings of sadness reminded me of when I had lost Chiro and Charlie on my birthday this past year. As the last of my tears streamed onto the sheets of the bed, I quietly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Suddenly, Bianca sprung out of her Pokéball in a flash of light.

"Sorry, Hynden," Bianca thought, "We're not going out without a fight. Preferably a Gym fight with Clay."

Bianca scurried out of the room, and into the nearby elevator. When she reached the dark and empty lobby, she walked over to the PC. She couldn't access the Pokémon Storage System because the file she was looking for required a password.

"Crap," Bianca whispered to herself, "If I were Hynden, what would I put for a password?"

She tried typing in bunch of words and names like "Johto", "Watermelon", or "Olivine", but none of them were correct.

"Wait," Bianca thought, "What was that name on the back of that case Hynden keeps her necklace thingy in? Ah! Now I remember! L-U-L-U."

To her pleasure, the Pokémon Storage System activated.

"I love having arms," Bianca remarked.

Bianca opened the Party members section, and deposited Sophia (whom Bianca thought was a bad choice to battle with). She thought for a moment about who could fight alongside her, and quickly withdrew Jackie.

"I think I heard somewhere that Clay's last Pokémon was part Steel-type. So, a Sawk will do the trick!" Bianca thought.

Having succeeded in her plan, Bianca hurried back up to the room. She pressed the button on Jackie's Pokéball, and told him what was going on.

"What?!" Jackie exclaimed, quietly, "Hynden is planning to give up?!"

"Yes," Bianca responded, "And if we don't get that Quake Badge, she may never battle again!"

"We cannot let her do that! I swore on Eliza's grave that I would complete the league for her!"

"That's why the two of us are going to sneak into Clay's Gym tomorrow, and battle him ourselves! But, we have to do it before Hynden wakes up!"

"Agreed. Are you sure this will work?"

"I hope it does, or you can kiss Eliza's promise goodbye."

"Never! So we leave first thing tomorrow morning!"

After confirming their plan, Bianca returned Jackie to his Pokéball, and was beginning to feel tired.

* * *

"Bianca..." I said, groggily, "What are you doing up? It's late."

"Oh, H-Hynden!" Bianca exclaimed, surprised, "I was just, um... getting some water! You know how we Grass-types love water!"

"But, you don't have a mouth."

"So? We can still drink water in a way!"

"Whatever, just go back to sleep, okay?"

"Gotcha, boss!" Bianca chirped as I went back to sleep. "This is perfect! Hynden doesn't even suspect a thing! This is going all according to plan!"

* * *

_**Pokémon obtained:**_ None.

_**Deaths:**_ None.

_**Boxed/Unboxed:**_ Sophia the Darumaka (Boxed), Jackie the Sawk (Unboxed)

* * *

**Author's Note:** My finals are over at last (at least until May or June)! But, that doesn't mean that I'll just update quicker than normal, I still have to do other things (plus Writer's Block might come back again!), but still stay tuned for Chapter 18!


	18. Can You Dig It? (VS Clay)

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the really long delay! I was busy working on my MLP fic and SoulSilver Nuzlocke! I really missed writing this story though... So, enjoy Chapter 18!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Hynden.

* * *

As I woke up the next morning, I couldn't help but feel a huge aching feeling of regret. But, I quickly suppressed it as I assured myself that going home was for the best. Once I got dressed, I began to assemble my team when I suddenly discovered that two of my Pokéballs were missing. Panicking, I searched the whole Pokémon Center room, but much to my chagrin, they were nowhere to be found. I bolted out of the Pokémon Center and decided to look on Route 6 to see if my missing Pokémon were training or something.

"Hello?" I called, "Are you guys here?"

"Excuse me, Miss," asked a calm voice, "Who are you looking for?"

I looked down to see that the voice was coming from a Pokémon. I examined the little green deer-like Pokémon with my Pokédex, and it revealed the creature as a Deerling in its summer form.

"Oh, hi there," I greeted, "Sorry, I'm just looking for two of my missing Pokémon who managed to scamper away from me."

"Um, do you happen to own a Lilligant and a Sawk by any chance?" the Deerling asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because, they were training here extremely early this morning, and I overheard them say they were heading to the Driftveil Gym. Something about 'taking the League into their own hands'."

"W-What?!" I gasped, "No! Bianca and Jackie could get themselves seriously hurt! I've gotta stop them! Oh, and thanks for telling me, little Deerling!"

"Can I please come with you?" Deerling asked, "I've never seen a Pokémon Gym before!"

"As long as you promise to stay out of trouble," I replied.

"Agreed! Oh, and my name is Artemis, what's yours?"

"Hynden. Now come on, we can't waste time!"

Once we reached the Driftveil Gym, I was surprised by the interior. For a Ground-type Gym, it actually looked really tidy. I asked the Driftveil Clyde if this was the right place, and he told me the Gym was down below. After taking a series of elevators, I finally managed to find the elevator that was taking me to Clay's floor. With Artemis by my side, I hurried over to my still fighting Pokémon. Bianca had just taken down Clay's Krokorok, but was just as exhausted as Jackie was.

"Hynden!" Bianca exclaimed panting, "There you are! Do you mind lending us a hand over here?"

"Are you guys alright?" I asked, "Why did you sneak out to challenge the Gym yourselves? You two could have gotten hurt!"

"We were trying to convince you to complete the League Challenge," Jackie explained.

"If you weren't going to get the badge, then we were," Bianca added. "We just didn't want you to give up! Lola wouldn't have wanted you to give up so easily!"

"But..." I said quietly.

"But nothing! Didn't Piko mention something about you becoming the Champion just like your mom did? If you were to give up now, you'd go home a complete failure! Don't you see, Hynden? We want you to keep going!"

I realized Bianca was completely right; I shouldn't give up if it means letting my Pokémon down. As I could feel my determination come flowing back, I sprayed Bianca and Jackie with a couple of Super Potions, and told them to stand firm.

"Now that's the Hynden we know and love!" Bianca exclaimed.

"So, yer ready to fight now, Hynden?" Clay asked, "Ah must say, yer Pokémon were doin' pretty darn well on their own, so you musta done a pretty good job raisin' 'em!"

Clay then sent out his next Pokémon: Palpitoad. I was about to send out Jackie, but I then remembered his bond with Eliza. So instead, I sent Bianca to battle.

"Palpitoad!" Clay exclaimed, "Attack with Bulldoze!"

"Bianca, dodge and counterattack with Magical Leaf!" I commanded.

Palpitoad began to make its attack, but Bianca quickly leaped into the air and critically attacked Palpitoad with her Magical Leaf attack; causing it to faint instantly. Once the fainted Palpitoad and Bianca were sent back to their respective Pokéballs, Clay sent out a Pokémon that my Pokédex called Excadrill.

"Jackie, are you ready?" I asked.

"I am ready!" Jackie replied.

"Excadrill, use Rock Slide!" Clay exclaimed.

A rain of boulders came crashing down towards Jackie. I thought there was no way out of this, but much to my amazement, Jackie used his new Brick Break attack to smash through every single boulder coming at him.

"Jackie, finish Excadrill with Brick Break!" I cried.

In one fatal chop from Jackie, Excadrill fell to the ground with a bang.

"Well, Hynden," remarked Clay returning Excadrill to its Pokéball, "Ah must say; you've really proven to have some potential! Anyways, just take this here Quake Badge!"

I triumphantly placed my fifth Unova badge into my badge case. As I returned Jackie to his Pokéball, I realized that it really was stupid of me to even _consider_ giving up as I remembered what Bianca and Jackie had gone through to make sure I stay.

"And, Hynden" added Clay, "Ah want y'all tah meet me at a place called Chargestone Cave, ya here?!"

"Yes, sir," I confirmed.

Taking Artemis with me, I headed back to the city, and began to run towards Route 6. I stopped as I heard my friend Bianca's voice calling me.

"Hey, Hynden!" Bianca asked, "Did you just get the Quake Badge?"

"Yeah, I did," I responded.

"Funny, I heard from Cheren that you said you weren't going to get it."

"Well, if you see Cheren, tell him that I finally came to my senses."

"Alright. Well, since it's been some time since we've actually had a battle, do you want to battle with me?"

"Sure, I guess I don't mind!"

Bianca sent out her Herdier and Servine to start the battle. I decided to battle with Piko, who was both confused and overjoyed that I was having a Pokémon battle.

"Piko, after what Bianca and Jackie did for me, I've decided to keep moving!" I said.

"Really? That's awesome!" Piko exclaimed.

"Hynden, are you talking to your Pignite again?" Bianca asked, "You know Pokémon can't talk right?"

"If only you could talk to them..." I sighed, "Piko, use Arm Thrust on Herdier, and Flame Charge on Servine!"

Once the respective moves were done, the two opponents instantly fainted. Bianca quickly sent out her Panpour as I called Piko back to send out my Bianca.

"Panpour, use Scald!" Bianca cried.

As Panpour unleashed a gush of hot water from its mouth, Bianca screeched in utter agony as she could feel her heat-sensitive skin beginning to burn. However, being the persistent Pokémon she was, Bianca decided to keep battling.

"Bianca, attack with Giga Drain!" I commanded.

Bianca tightly wrapped her arms around Panpour, and began to sap its energy critically. When she released Panpour, it was too weak to battle any longer. For her final Pokémon, Bianca sent out her Musharna that used to be the Munna I helped save from Team Plasma.

"Musharna, use Hypnosis!" Bianca exclaimed.

Musharna released several energy rings at Bianca, causing her to drift into a deep sleep. Returning the sleepy Flowering Pokémon to her Pokéball, I sent out Gummy to finish things.

"Musharna, use Hypnosis again!" Bianca ordered.

However, the Hypnosis failed to hit Gummy correctly, and I told Gummy to attack with Crunch. As he sunk his teeth into his opponent, Musharna lowered to the ground and fainted.

"Man, it's been a while since I've had a Pokémon battle with you, Hynden," Bianca remarked. "As a reward, I want to give you this HM!"

The Hidden Machine Bianca had given me contained a move called Fly. I found it very convenient since I knew I couldn't drive my bike everywhere, but I decided to wait until I decided to call Ruffle back to the team or something.

"So, have you seen Cheren lately?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, I think he went to the next town or something," I said. "Why? Haven't you seen him?"

"...No, not really. Ever since the Ferris Wheel ride, he hasn't been talking to me very much."

"Did you say something to him that might have been offensive?"

"I don't think so; all I said to him was that he's one of the best friends I've ever had!"

"Oh..." I groaned, "Bianca, I think that's the problem."

"Why? Doesn't he like our friendship?"

"I'm sure he does, Bianca. But here's the thing: Cheren kind of likes you. A lot."

"Well, duh! We've been friends since we were five years old!" Bianca exclaimed.

"No, Bianca! That's not what I—oh, forget it. You'll probably figure it out."

"Figure what out, Hynden?" Bianca asked.

"Nothing," I sighed. "I'll see you later, Clay wants me to meet him at a place called Chargestone Cave at the end of Route 6."

"Okay, bye Hynden!" Bianca said as she went ahead to Route 6.

"And as for you, Artemis," I said, "I never officially caught you, have I?"

"No, I don't think so," Artemis agreed.

"Well, would you like to join the team?" I asked.

"Boy, would I!"

I pressed a Pokéball to Artemis' head, and it shook three times before clicking shut. Once I placed Artemis' Pokéball back onto my belt, I hurried up to meet Clay at the chosen destination.

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** Artemis the Deerling (summer), Female, Mild nature, Strong willed.

**Deaths:** None.

**Boxed/Unboxed: **None.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Alright, 5 badges down, 3 to go! I hope you enjoyed the update, and stay tuned for Chapter 19!


	19. The Caverns of Chargestone Cave!

**Author's Note:** Well guys, here's the update! Boy, I'll tell ya; this chapter was a doozy to write (took me 4 and a half pages) since this is the entire Chargestone Cave visit! By the way, if you read closely, you'll notice a Homestuck joke somewhere! So, enjoy reading Chapter 19!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Hynden.

* * *

After traversing Route 6, I came across a cave entrance that was covered in a strange yellow web. I touched the web out of curiosity, but I yanked my hand back as I felt a painful shock in my hand.

"Y'all don't wanna touch that!" I heard Clay say as he walked up to me. "That there's the nest of a Pokémon called Galvantula, and one touch'll shock ya! Krokorok, use Bulldoze!"

"Heh, just watch; I'm gonna wreck it!" I heard Krokorok exclaim.

Krokorok then lunged forward and shredded the electric web to bits. Before I could go inside the cave, Clay stopped me for a second.

"Hynden," he said, "I just wanna let ya know that whatever yer dream is, y'all should keep at it, and never let anythin' get in the way of it, ya hear?"

"Yes, Clay," I assured, "I promise!"

Once he and Krokorok left, I hurried into Chargestone Cave since it was the only way of getting to my next Gym battle in Mistralton City. But, once I entered the cave, I was grabbed by the arms by two mysterious, identical-looking guys with short white hair and stealthy black outfits. The only difference between the two was that one had bright green eyes, and the other had deep blue eyes.

"It's you..." the blue eyed one said as he stared at me with an affectionate look, "I get to see you again at last."

"Corn, you must focus!" the green eyed one snapped, "Don't get distracted by the girl!"

"Very well, Dent," Corn sighed. "Lord N, we have found the girl you were looking for."

"Well done, Corn and Dent," N said, "I have no further requests, so you are free to leave."

In the blink of an eye, the ones known as Corn and Dent teleported away. But, my amazement was short-lived and replaced by slight anger as N walked closer to me.

"In case you were wondering," N explained, "Those two were part of the Shadow Triad. Like me, they're part of Team Plasma."

"So, I guess that means they're rotten criminals," I hissed, "Just like you."

"Criminals?" N asked confused, "Don't be silly, Hynden. Team Plasma aren't criminals."

"If you guys weren't criminals, my Duosion would still be alive!"

"Oh. Well, I'm so sorry that happened to you, Hynden."

"Keep your stupid apologies to yourself!"

"Someone's getting fussy~," N teased in a singsong tone as he lightly tugged at my cheek. "You know, I do like Chargestone Cave; the Pokémon living in freedom, the way the electrical currents move at a rapid pace, and the way everything works in harmony. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"To be honest, N," I said, "Half the time, I have no clue what you're saying. But, I guess I see your point."

"I see..." N said. "I've told my father about you and your friends, and now he's sending the Shadow Triad to follow your every move to learn about you."

"That's a little creepy," I muttered.

"From what they've told me; Cheren lusts for the ideal of the ultimate strength and Bianca yearns to find the truth of her own path in life. And as for you, you're quite unique in your own special way. Because your mother is the current Champion of Johto, and your father took over as Frontier Brain of the Battle Castle about seventeen years ago, you vowed to rise as Champion in order to be strong trainers just like them. So, before I start rambling on, Team Plasma will be waiting for you at the end of the cave to test your true strength!"

As N started to walk away from me, I began to follow his direction. Suddenly, I was stopped by the sound of my friend Bianca's voice. When I turned around, I saw Bianca was with Professor Juniper.

"Hi, Bianca!" I greeted, "Hi, Professor!"

"Hynden," Professor Juniper said, "Do you know what happens when you touch a floating stone in Chargestone Cave?"

"No," I answered.

"Well, let Bianca demonstrate for you!"

When Bianca gave the floating stone a light push, it quickly rammed into a nearby larger rock. My eyes widened a little bit at the sudden attraction between the two.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Bianca asked.

"I'm here with Bianca to research a Pokémon called Klink," Juniper explained, "They're really common to find in this cave."

Suddenly, I had an eerie feeling that something was behind me. When I turned around, I was completely horrified. Behind me was a small gear-like Pokémon. I didn't even have to look at my Pokédex to know it was the Pokémon type I absolutely abhorred and feared the most: Steel.

"Get it away from me!" I shrieked with a mix of anger and fear, "I _hate_ Steel-types with a passion!"

"Why on earth would you hate a Steel-type for?" Juniper asked, "Besides these are the Klink I was telling you about."

"I can't explain it to you, Professor," I said.

As the Klink drifted closer to me, my necklace began to lift up as if it were attracted to the Klink. Horrified, I quickly sent out Piko to handle it.

"Oh no you don't!" I yelled angrily, "I'm not going to let another Steel-type take her away from me again! Piko, take it down with Flame Charge!"

Piko hesitantly decided to follow commands and unleashed a powerful Flame Charge at the Klink, making it faint instantly. With my bad memories and hatred numbing the hot metal, I gave out a yell as I tossed the unconscious Klink far across the cave. Panting, I returned Piko to his Pokéball as my anger and fear slowly began to fade.

"Hynden, what was all that about?" Juniper asked, "I needed that Klink for my research!"

"Sorry, Professor," I apologized, "I guess I just kind of panicked. Besides, I'm sure there are plenty of Klink around for you to study."

"Well, alright," Juniper sighed, "I wanted to give you this Lucky Egg, that is, if you promise not to have another meltdown."

"I'll keep it under control," I said as I accepted the Lucky Egg.

"That's good. Well, good luck with your journey!"

Having calmed down, I walked further ahead to try and find the end of the cave. I could feel the electricity crackle beneath every step I took. Eventually, I got really tired from walking around the cave for nearly an hour, so I decided to sit on a nearby bridge. But, just as I was massaging my sore feet, another Klink decided to sneak up on me.

"Gah!" I yelped, "What the heck?!"

Suddenly, I began to lose my balance, and fell over the bridge. But, I was quickly caught by someone before I could hit the ground. I looked up and saw all three members of the Shadow Triad surrounding me.

"Well well well," Corn remarked in a flirty tone, "It looks like I finally get to hold you in my arms, Hynden,"

"How do you know my name?!" I shrieked surprised, "Who are you?"

"We are known as the Shadow Triad," explained a Shadow Triad member with blazing red eyes, "And we serve only Team Plasma."

"I believe Lord N has already told her that, Pod," Dent said. "Quit stating the obvious."

"Fair maiden," Corn said, "There is are two staircases up ahead."

"When you take the right direction, Team Plasma will be waiting for you to battle them on the ground floor," Pod explained.

"But don't run down either of them; both staircases are quite steep," Dent added.

"Um... will do?" I said.

Once the Shadow Triad teleported away again, I began to walk down the first set of stairs that took me to another cavern. I carefully searched around the cavern for the next set of stairs, and found them behind a large electric rock. I was so excited that I forgot about one of the Shadow Triad telling me not to run down the stairs. I clumsily stumbled down the stairs until I painfully landed on the ground floor.

"I warned you about the stairs, young girl!" I thought I heard Dent say from somewhere, "I told you they were steep!"

I turned around to answer him, but the Shadow Triad were nowhere to be found.

"Well next time, I'm gonna make sure it doesn't keep happening!" I thought. "Who were those three really? They seemed so familiar..."

But, I quickly brushed my thoughts aside as I saw a few Plasma Grunts up ahead. I took out most of them with ease, but one of the last ones, however, was a little more intense.

"Ah, so you're the girl Lord N is infatuated with!" the Plasma Grunt said.

"Infatuated?!" I sputtered, "Don't be ridiculous!"

"No matter," she sighed, "That's not going to stop me from taking you down!"

The Plasma Grunt sent out her Trubbish. I was about to send out Jesse, but Artemis suddenly came bursting out of her Pokéball.

"Hynden, let me fight again!" Artemis insisted, "I took out a couple Grunts back there, so I can do it here!"

"But Artemis, it's a pure Poison-type!" I said panicking, "You'll get killed!"

"Just let me fight!" Artemis said, clearly not caring about type advantages.

Much to my surprise, Artemis managed to knock out the Trubbish with a single Take Down. For about a second, Artemis stood smiling with pride, but that pride quickly faded as she cringed in pain. I noticed her body was started to turn to a tint of purple, meaning that she was poisoned by the Trubbish. Worse, her Take Down move had sapped some of her strength. Quickly returning Artemis to her Pokéball, I hurried up ahead. I heard voices coming from the next floor up, so I took the last staircase going up.

"Oh hello, Hynden," N greeted, "I take it you've beaten most of my minions?"

"Enough yap!" I snapped, "My Deerling's been badly poisoned thanks to one of _your _toadies, and I need to get to Mistralton City to treat her! Now, step aside!"

"Don't you think it's foolish to blame the ones who are trying to help Pokémon?" N asked smugly. "Once I'm through with you, my dream of bringing salvation to the Pokémon will finally become reality! No longer will Pokémon have to suffer under the guise of humans!"

"And what makes you think they're suffering, huh? Have you ever considered the thought that Ghetsis is, oh I don't know, _lying_ to you and the rest of Team Plasma?"

"Silence! Ghetsis is my father, and he would **never** lie to me!"

"N, don't you get it? You're being used!"

"I said silence!" N screeched angrily as he sent out a cute little yellow bug-like Pokémon. I examined it with my Pokédex, and its name was Joltik.

"Gummy, take it down!" I cried as I tossed Gummy's Pokéball.

"Joltik, use Slash!" N commanded.

For such a small Pokémon, Joltik managed to cause a fair amount of damage. With Gummy still standing strong, he quickly subdued Joltik with his new Bulldoze attack. N then sent out his Boldore and Klink, which were no major threat to Gummy.

"Gummy, use Dig!" I ordered.

Once Gummy burrowed himself into the cave's ground, Boldore and Klink quickly scanned the area for Gummy's surprise move. However, Gummy slammed both of them into the ground from behind their backs. Frustrated, N sent out his last Pokémon called Ferroseed.

"Hynden," Gummy panted, "I'm gettin' a little tired. Hows about switchin' me out for a bit?"

"Alright," I agreed, sending Gummy back to his Pokéball. "You deserve a good rest. Piko, finish the battle!"

"Ferroseed, use Iron Defense!" N called.

"Piko, try to damage it as much as you can with Rollout!" I cried.

"Heh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, Hynden," N thought.

Piko rolled himself into a ball, and rapidly charged at Ferroseed numerous times. After the last time, Piko gripped his arm in pain as I noticed it had several deep scratches like the rest of his body.

"Piko, are you alright?!" I asked panicking, "What the heck happened?"

"Ferroseed's special little ability is known as Iron Barbs," N explained smugly, "Any contact with it will result in slight damage. Ferroseed, use Gyro Ball!"

Ferroseed started to spin faster and faster until it slammed into Piko's already damaged body. Seeing Piko struggle to get up, my heart began to pick up speed as I tried to think of what to do.

"Now, Ferroseed!" N exclaimed, "Finish the battle with Metal Claw!"

Just as I thought it was the end for Piko, Jesse released himself from his Pokéball and blockaded Ferroseed's attack.

"_JESSE_!" Piko and I screamed.

N stood wide-eyed as I rushed over to my wounded Ducklett. Jesse's chest was scarred with three bleeding slash wounds. My eyes began to leak with tears as the sight of Jesse's barely breathing body made me relive my worst memory from ten years ago.

"No..." I choked, "Not again... Jesse, why did you do it?!"

"It's the least I could do..." Jesse whispered, "After all, you've been through hell and back trying to protect us, so I thought I'd... return the favor."

"Jesse..." Piko said somberly.

"Besides... what kind of friend would I be... If I didn't try to protect my friends like you do, Hynden? If... If I had a choice between my death and a friend's... I'd gladly die..."

I buried my face into my hands and burst into tears as Piko tearfully comforted me.

"Hmm," N sighed, "I may not have won the battle, but your Ducklett's final words spoke to me..."

"What are you talking about?" I sniffed, "Why would you even care about my Pokémon's death? You're with Team Plasma!"

"That may be true, but if your Pokémon was willing to give his life for you, then maybe you're not as bad as I thought. But, even if you _are_ a worthy Trainer, that still won't stop my goals!"

Suddenly, Professor Juniper and Bianca rushed up to me. Kneeling down, Professor Juniper asked what was wrong, and as soon as I told her the answer, her eyes widened with shock.

"Are you responsible for this?!" Juniper snapped at N, "Who are you?!"

"That's none of your concern, Aurea," N hissed. "All you need to know is that I'm the King of Team Plasma, and nothing further."

"That's Professor Juniper to you!" Juniper screeched.

"I shouldn't have to be formal with someone who uses Pokémon as if they were simple lab experiments!" N yelled. "The thought of Pokémon being experimented against their own will; it's absolutely **sickening**! Once I defeat Alder, that's all going to change! Pokémon are meant to be free, and not used as tools for you to throw away when they're of no use!"

Before any of us could object, N stormed out of the cave furiously. Still holding Jesse's dead body in my arms, Professor Juniper put a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Hynden, I'm so sorry that Team Plasma took away another Pokémon's life," Juniper said sincerely.

"You don't have to be sorry," I assured. "I know Jesse's death wasn't my fault, but his sacrifice still hurts me the most."

"Why's that?"

"When I was a little girl, another friend of mine died saving me almost in the same way Jesse saved Piko," I explained as my eyes shifted to my necklace. "I don't feel comfortable going into great detail, so I'll just leave it at that."

"Alright, Hynden," Juniper said.

"You know, Hynden," Bianca added, "There's a place nearby called Celestial Tower where Trainers lay their Pokémon to rest. You could put Jesse there."

"Thanks, Bianca," I responded, "I'm gonna do just that."

Once Professor Juniper and Bianca left the cave, I returned Piko to his Pokéball and followed suit. Each time I looked at Jesse's corpse as I carried it into the city, I was haunted with the dark memory of my dearest friend's cruel demise.

"Lulu..." I thought as I looked at my gold and silver necklace.

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** None.

**Deaths:** Jesse the Ducklett, Lvl. 22-28

**Boxed/Unboxed:** None.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Long chapters are LOOOOOOOONG. Like I said back in Chapter 13, you'll find out the meaning and backstory of Hynden's necklace! So, stay tuned for Chapter 20!


	20. The Tragic Tale of Lulu the Pidgeot!

**Author's Note:** Well, looks like we've got another long chapter on our hands (or in this case, on my fingers)! By the way, this chapter contains a flashback which is in italicized text, so enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon; just Hynden.

* * *

Still somberly stroking Jesse's small lifeless body, I was suddenly approached by a man with slightly spiky brown hair and squinting eyes.

"Hynden, was it?" the man asked, "Why are you so sad?"

"It's nothing, sir," I said, "I was just on my way to Celestial Tower to bury my poor Ducklett—wait, how do you know my name?"

"Oh, pardon me!" the man apologized, "I've seemed to have misplaced my manners! My name is Cedric Juniper; you may already know my daughter, Aurea."

"You're Professor Juniper's Dad?" I asked amazed. "It's nice to meet you, sir!"

"Professor Juniper, who is that?" asked an approaching red haired girl wearing a "flighty" blue outfit.

"Oh hello, Skyla!" Cedric greeted, "This is Hynden, she's a friend of my daughter's!"

"Nice to meet you, Hynden!" Skyla chirped as she gave me a rapid handshake. "I hope you plan on challenging the Gym soon, because I'll be ready!"

"Well, I'll let you girls become better acquainted, so I'll be going now!" Cedric said. "But before I go; Hynden, take out your Pokédex."

Once I did as directed, Professor Juniper Sr. began to tinker with my Pokédex. As soon as he finished, he explained to me that I can now search for whatever Pokémon I'd like to find and their different forms. When Skyla and I were finally alone, she glanced over at my Ducklett's corpse.

"Judging by your dead Pokémon, I assume you were on your way to Celestial Tower?" Skyla asked.

"Yeah," I responded.

"By the way, Hynden; when I was flying in my cargo plane, I noticed something at the top of the tower, and I'd like to go investigate it! After you take care of your business, meet me at the top of the tower, okay?"

"Got it!" I confirmed.

After Skyla headed in Route 7's direction, my Xtransceiver began to sound off an obnoxious alarm. When I checked it, my face went completely pale from fear. My Xtransceiver was telling me that Artemis' poison was beginning to spread, so I rushed into the Pokémon Center to have her checked in for treatment.

"Is she going to be alright?" I asked the Mistralton Nurse Joy.

"We're not sure, but it's best to wait and see," the Nurse Joy told me. "The best thing you can do is hope and wait."

I walked out of the Pokémon Center with a great feeling of fear that Artemis might not make it, but I did my best to brush it off with hope. Once I reached Route 7, it began to rain. Dashing past the grass and trainers, I finally made it into Celestial Tower in a span of ten or so minutes. As I looked at some of the weeping people at their Pokémon's graves, I started to tear up as I walked up the spiral stairs of the tower. Once I came across a good empty grave, I interred Jesse in it and immediately began to sob as I recalled everyone who had died in battle: Chiro, Charlie, Eliza, Lola, and now Jesse. My sobs got even worse as I remembered the Pokémon who's death had broken me for the past ten years of my life: Lulu. However, I stopped crying as a little alien creature floated up to me. My Pokédex was telling me that the creature's name was Elgyem.

"Excuse me, Miss," Elgyem said, "Are you alright?"

"To be honest, little guy," I responded, "No, I'm not. You see, over a long period of time, my friends have been starting to die off one by one. But, the biggest reason I'm crying is because I keep remembering the death of my friend Lulu."

Before I continued my story, I decided that this was something all of my Pokémon should hear. After I called out Piko, Bianca, Jackie, Gummy, and the recently unboxed Stella and Amber (my Emolga).

"Guys, I think it's time I tell you about Lulu," I said opening my locket, revealing a gold Pidgeot feather that was speckled with dry blood.

* * *

_I was only a year old, and at that time, my parents and I were still living in Olivine City. Because of my young age, I couldn't remember much, but I do remember receiving a special present from Mom one Christmas Day._

_"Are you sure about this, Reets?" Dad asked Mom, "I mean, she's just a baby, so don't you think this is a bit, oh I don't know, dangerous?"_

_"Don't worry, Nico," Mom assured, "I was sure to catch a very low leveled Pokémon. And even if it's a bit of a hassle, we'll help them get along."_

_Mom handed me a generic Pokéball tied with a green ribbon. As she untied the ribbon, she gently urged me to the present._

_"Don't be shy, Hynden," Mom cooed, "Just touch the center of the Pokéball!"_

_Amazed, I placed my tiny palm on the Pokéball's button, and in a flash, out popped a small little Pidgey. The Pidgey examined me from head to toe, until it lightly flew on top of my soft baby head._

_"Hey, Ritsu," Pidgey asked, "What is this thing? It's so squishy looking."_

_"This is my daughter Hynden," Mom explained, "From today on, you're going to be her first Pokémon. Sweetie, I'd like you to meet your new Pidgey friend, Lulu."_

_I gently stroked Lulu's head, causing her to chirp happily. She nestled herself onto my head again, but began to lightly peck my forehead. Dad then immediately took Lulu off of my head, and picked me up into his arms._

_"Lulu, you've gotta be more gentle with Hynden," Dad warned sternly, "Since she's only a year old, you shouldn't peck her forehead!"_

_"Oh, alright," Lulu said. "It's still nice to meet you, little Hynden!"_

_Over time, Lulu and I developed a very close bond. If either my parents or Fergil and Blaze couldn't play with me, Lulu would always be there to keep me company. Sometimes, if I ever woke up crying in the middle of the night, Lulu would fly into my crib and cuddle next to me to successfully calm me down. When I was four years old, Lulu had come back from training with Mom as a newly-evolved Pidgeotto. Excited by this, I asked her if I could use Lulu in my first practice battle with Dad. Once she agreed, Dad took me to Route 39 (our usual battling route)._

_"Alakazam, use Focus Blast!" Dad commanded._

_"Lulu, hit it before it can attack!" I cried._

_As Alakazam was charging its attack with its signature magic spoons, Lulu slammed her body into her opponent before the charge was complete. Slightly scratched from the impact, Alakazam quickly stood back up._

_"Great job for your first practice battle, Hynden," Dad said, "You've just learned how to stop a Focus-based move. Now, let's see if you can get Lulu to use one of her attack moves."_

_"But Daddy, I barely know any of her moves!" I retorted._

_"Don't worry, Hynden," Lulu assured, "I'll just tell you what move to use, okay?"_

_"Okay, Lulu!" I agreed._

_"Alakazam, attack with Psychic!" Dad ordered._

_"Alright, Hynden!" Lulu exclaimed, "Tell me to use Whirlwind!"_

_"Okay! Use Whirlwind, Lulu!" I exclaimed._

_The minute Alakazam unleashed a huge wave of psychic energy, Lulu began to flap her wings until she summoned a huge gust of wind that managed to send the Psychic attack back to Alakazam. The blast was strong enough to knock Alakazam into a tree, causing it to faint instantly._

_"Well done, honey," Dad said to me as he woke up his Alakazam with a Revive and spraying it with a Hyper Potion, "You and Lulu make quite a team!"_

_"We do, don't we?" I said as I hugged Lulu. "Lulu, when I grow up and become a great trainer like Mommy and Daddy, you're going to be my best Pokémon!"_

_"You bet we are!" Lulu agreed, "We'll be unstoppable!"_

_As the days passed, Lulu and I would spend time with each other almost all the time. I even used her in a play battle with my best human friend Haley (who's dad Ethan was a childhood friend of Mom's). For the longest time, things between me and my Pidgeotto friend were going perfect._

_That is... until that one tragic afternoon when I was six years old._

_It's so odd to think that one afternoon that started off so peaceful had turned into a complete nightmare. Lulu (who was now a Pidgeot) and I were having a little picnic on Route 39 after a little training. Once I finished the sandwich Mom had made for me, I noticed Lulu had started to run out of her favorite berries._

_"Hold on, Lulu, I'll go get some more berries!" I told her._

_"Hynden, Ritsu and Nico said not to go off on your own!" Lulu said._

_"Don't worry, Luluby (my personal nickname for her), I won't be long!" I assured._

_I scampered off deep into the trees, and picked some Pecha Berries off of the tree, since Lulu's favorite food flavor was Sweet. Not looking where I was going, I bumped into a hard and metallic figure. When I looked up, I saw a Magneton glaring at me very angrily._

_"Um... nice Magneton..." I said scared._

_"Watch where you're going, kid!" Magneton said as it used a Metal Sound attack._

_"Augh!" I cried as I ran while covering my ears._

_I tried to run away from the Magneton as fast as I could, but I suddenly stopped as the Magneton had blocked my path._

_"I've got you now!" Magneton said evilly as it used its Lock-On move._

_My gray eyes widened with terror as the Magneton began to charge what looked like a Magnet Bomb. I tensed up my body as I prepared for the attack to hit me, but the feeling never came. When I looked again, I was horrified at what had really happened: Lulu was standing in front of me; wings around my body, but fatally wounded in the back._

_"Lulu!" I cried, "Are you okay?"_

_"Not.. exactly..." Lulu said faintly._

_"Don't worry, I'll just take you to the Pokémon Center, and you'll be okay—"_

_"Hynden, no," Lulu told me, "I'm afraid... it's too late for that. I already feel myself getting weaker and weaker."_

_"Lulu..." I choked as tears began to form in my eyes, "Why did you jump in front of me? You knew you were gonna get hurt!"_

_"Hynden..." Lulu explained, "You're my best friend in the entire world... If I hadn't taken the attack for you, you would've been the one to die. Now, I've lived a good life, but you... you're only six years old! That's not a very long time..."_

_"But... I thought you were going to be my partner when I become an official trainer!" I sobbed._

_"I guess... fate had other plans..." Lulu whispered. "Listen, I may not be able to be your battling partner anymore, but when you do become a trainer... treat your Pokémon... as if they were me..."_

_Once she breathed her last breath, Lulu collapsed to the ground in front of me; her eyes still open, but lifeless. With the tears falling from my eyes even faster, I rushed back to my house for help._

_"Hynden, what's wrong?!" Mom asked._

_"Mommy, Daddy, come quick!" I choked, "It's Lulu!"_

_When the three of us ran back to Lulu's body, Mom and Dad's faces turned to grief and horror as I cried into Dad's black and silver long-coat. As Dad was trying to comfort me, Mom carefully picked up Lulu's body and we began to walk back to the house. About an hour later, the three of us (along with both my parents' full Pokémon teams) were gathered around a makeshift casket that contained Lulu's body. As Dad began to recite a eulogy about Lulu, Mom and I both began to cry hard, and we were hugged by Blaze and Rose respectively. Once Dad had finished reading the eulogy, he was about to lower the casket into the grave when I stopped him for a second to reopen it. I plucked one of Lulu's blood-spotted gold head-feathers and put it into my swirl-shaped silver locket that was decorated with a gold heart in the center. As soon as Lulu was completely buried near the Route's small tower, I tearfully knelt at the tower and spoke._

_"Goodbye, Lulu," I sniffed, "You were the best Pidgeot anyone could ever hope to know. I'm gonna hold onto one of your feathers so I'll always have a little piece of you with me forever, okay?"_

_The five weeks that followed were quite grim. I refused to battle, I barely talked to anyone (especially Dad's Magneton), and I didn't even want to go swimming in the sea. One day, Haley even came over to try and get my mind off of Lulu (which didn't quite work at first)._

_"Hynden, I don't like seeing you sad like this," Haley said. "I don't think Lulu would have wanted you to keep crying."_

_"I know, Haley," I told him, "But, every time I think of Lulu, I get all sad and stuff."_

_"Okay, I'm gonna tell you something my mommy used to tell me when my great-grandpa died," Haley said as he sat next to me on the beach. "After they buried him, I started to cry behind a tree where I hoped no one would find me. Then, Mommy came over and began to rub my back. She also told me 'My dear son, there's no need to always be sad about Grandpa'."_

_"But, your grandpa died, so isn't that reason enough to be sad?" I asked._

_"That's what I told her," Haley responded. "But then she said to me 'You know what, Haley? Even though it seems like Grandpa's gone, the good times you've had with him will always be alive with you in your heart. If you always remember those times, Grandpa will always be with you'. Don't you have any good memories with Lulu?"_

_"Of course I do!" I exclaimed, "Lots!"_

_"Then you should always think of those happy memories whenever you remember Lulu," Haley said. "If you do, you won't be so sad all the time."_

_As I looked at my locket containing the Pidgeot feather, I smiled as my eyes began to water._

_"You're not gonna cry again, are you?" Haley asked me._

_"Well, these tears are different. Instead of them being sad tears, I'm crying because I'm happy that Lulu was ever my friend! Thanks for cheering me up, Haley."_

_Out of gratitude, I gave Haley a hug, which caused him to smile and blush. I was about to break the hug, but Haley insisted I keep at it a little longer._

_"Sorry, I just... like it when you hug me," Haley told me, blushing, "It's really nice..."_

_"Alright, dude," I said, breaking the hug, "I've gotta go home now."_

_"Same. My dad's already here to take me back home to Goldenrod."_

_After Haley went home, I sat at the dining table looking at my necklace and smiling. Granted, I was still a little bit sad that Lulu was gone, but I was also happy about the times we've shared together._

* * *

Once I finished my tale, I noticed everyone (even Bianca and Gummy) was starting to tear up. Amber and Stella hugged each other as they started to bawl, and the little Elgyem was wiping the tears from his face.

"Aw come on, guys," I said, "Cheer up. We've still gotta meet Skyla at the top of the tower, you know!"

"Hynden..." Elgyem said, "I was gonna ask if I could join your team, if that's alright?"

"Of course it is!" I agreed, "What's your name, little one?"

"Lucas," Elgyem answered.

"Alright! Welcome to the team, Lucas!" I said as I captured Lucas with a Pokéball.

Because my team was full, Lucas' Pokéball was automatically boxed. Sighing, I returned everyone to their Pokéballs, and hurried further up the tower.

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** Lucas the Elgyem, Male, Bold nature, Impetuous and Silly.

**Deaths:** None (Lulu's been dead, so it doesn't count).

**Boxed/Unboxed:** Lucas the Elgyem (Boxed), Amber the Emolga, Female, Impish nature, Likes to fight (Unboxed).

* * *

**Author's Note: **I apologize if the flashback is a bit Mary-Sueish, but I did try my best! On another note, Haley's the rival/friend dude in my White 2 game, in case you guys wanted to know! So, stay tuned for Chapter 21!


	21. Keeping Our Sweet Memories Alive!

**Author's Note:** Oh my god, lookie here! After a month of waiting, here's an update! Yeah, I've been so busy working on my SS Nuzlocke story, that I had little to no motivation to work on this one! Nothing much happens, but I'm still writing! So, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Hynden.

* * *

I finally reached Celestial Tower's peak to see Skyla standing in front of some sort of giant white bell.

"Ah, you made it, Hynden!" Skyla exclaimed.

"So, what was the thing you saw here?" I asked, "Where is it now?"

"It left when you got up here," Skyla told me, "It was a wounded Unfezant, so I treated her wounds, and she flew off."

"Oh, that's a relief!" I sighed. "What's the bell for, Skyla?"

"The Spirit Bell of Celestial Tower is rung by many people for the purpose of soothing the spirits of their departed ones," Skyla explained, "Why don't you ring it, Hynden?"

I walked up to the Spirit Bell and gave it a push. As it swayed back and forth, the loud chime of the bell resonated throughout the entire area. My mouth unconsciously formed a calm smile as I began to reminisce about the happy memories I've created with my departed Pokémon (especially Lulu).

"It's such a peaceful sound..." Skyla sighed, "I'd bet the spirits are very happy right now. You know, Hynden; I am the Mistralton Gym Leader, so you're welcome to come battle me for the Jet Badge anytime!"

"Will do, Skyla!" I chirped.

However, when I got back to the city, the Nurse Joy of Mistralton City came running over to me. She had a saddened look on her face, and told me that I should come to the Pokémon Center quick.

"What's wrong, Nurse Joy?!" I asked, "Is Artemis alright?"

"...I'm afraid not, Hynden..." Nurse Joy sighed. "You see, not only did she suffer from internal bleeding from her Take Down, her poison has also spread to several vital organs. She's just barely alive, and I'm afraid we're going to have to put her down."

My eyes widened with grief and shock at the Mistralton Nurse Joy's horrible news. Trembling with sadness, I asked her to take me to Artemis so I could see her one last time. When I got to Artemis' medical room, I noticed her heart monitor was beeping at a slow rate, and that she was barely awake.

"A-Artemis..." I choked, "C-Can you hear me?"

"Hynden..." Artemis said faintly, "Is that you?"

"Yeah... it is."

"Good... I-I was hoping I'd get to see my trainer one last time... before I go to sleep. And, I think it'd also be best if... if I could see my teammates one last time too..."

Sniffling, I called everyone out of their Pokéballs and tearfully explained to them that Artemis was going to be put down due to her failing health. While Piko's eyes began to fill up with tears, Gummy and Jackie bowed their heads in sorrow, Bianca choked up while trying to fight her tears, and Amber and Stella just broke down in heartbreak at the situation. Just then, the Mistralton Nurse Joy came in with the needle filled with the euthanasia liquid.

"Have you said your goodbyes yet?" Nurse Joy asked somberly.

"Yeah..." I sniffed, "But, I always stick with my Pokémon until the end."

"I never enjoy doing these things..." Nurse Joy thought, "They're always so upsetting..."

As Nurse Joy injected the deadly fluid into Artemis' bloodstream, tears started to flow from the departing Deerling's eyes as she began to slowly close them.

"Goodbye, Hynden..." Artemis breathed, "I'll miss you..."

Once Artemis' eyes were closed shut, her heart monitor immediately flat-lined. I broke down in tears at the sound of the static beeping sound as my entire team tried to comfort me. Nurse Joy offered to put Artemis in the Mistralton Morgue, but I decided to bury her at Celestial Tower. I returned to the tower with Artemis and buried her next to Jesse.

"Are you going to be alright, Hynden?" Stella asked.

"Yeah... I'll be fine, Stel," I insisted.

"Is the Gym Battle canceled?" Amber asked me.

"Of course not!" I told her, "I'm not gonna quit just because I lost another teammate! I've learned that if one of my Pokémon dies, then that's a sign that I need to keep going for their sake! And you know what? That's just what I'm going to do for Artemis!"

I returned everyone to their Pokéballs except for Amber and Stella, whom I've decided to use to beat Skyla.

A month had passed, and it was now November 8th. Since it was now fall, I had changed into a new outfit that consisted of my hair still being french braided (although I did go back to wearing my green and purple hat), a black long sleeved shirt underneath a Pokéball-crested t-shirt colored with light blue on top and navy blue on the bottom, a cool black and cyan jacket, dark gray jeans, and leaf green colored sneakers. Even Stella had a brand new look since she became a Cinccino after I had stumbled upon a Shiny Stone somewhere. Once Amber KO'd a wild Unfeazant on Route 7, her and Stella were panting from slight exhaustion.

"So, do you girls think you're ready to take on Skyla?" I asked.

"Hynden, we _know_ we're ready to take on Skyla!" Amber exclaimed.

"We have been training for nearly a month and a half, after all," Stella added.

"Awesome! After a quick rest at the Pokémon Center, we'll head straight to the Gym!"

As the three of us started to run back to Mistralton City, I looked back at Celestial Tower with a light smile on my face.

"Jesse, Artemis," I thought, "We'll do this for you!"

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** None.

**Deaths:** Artemis the Summer Deerling, Lvl. 22-28

**Boxed/Unboxed:** None.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm not really in much of a mood to write my White Nuzlocke than I am my SoulSilver one, so there is a chance updates might be slow! But, stay tuned for Chapter 22!


	22. Fly Away Now, Fly Away! (VS Skyla)

**Author's Note:** Well, here's another Ideals of Darkness update! I wanted to get another, more long update in before I go back to working on Tides of the Soul, so enjoy this chapter and Gym Battle! As another note, let's play my favorite fanfic game called "Spot the Reference"! This one's a little more obvious, and I've been planning it for months!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Hynden.

* * *

Once Amber and Stella were restored to full health, I bought a few Super Potions and headed to the Gym. The interior of the building was pretty bizarre, and in front of me was some sort of cannon. The Mistralton Clyde told me that in order to get to Skyla, I had to become basically a human cannonball. Gulping, I climbed inside of the cannon and started screaming as I zipped through the air.

"Oomph!" I grunted as I landed on a conveniently placed mattress, "That was wild. Well, I might as well keep going..."

After an hour and a half of being shot out of several cannons, I was relieved to have discovered the final cannon. But, my screams of terror got more intense as I slammed flat into a wall.

"Ow..." I groaned as I slowly slid down onto the battling platform, "My face..."

"Whoops!" Skyla said sheepishly, "I guess I forgot to carry the three when I was setting up the cannons..."

"Yeah, whoops..." I grumbled.

"It's about time you got here, Hynden!" Amber teased.

"H-How did you two get up here before me?!" I asked slightly angry.

"I didn't want to be fired out of a cannon, so I had dear Amber fly me to the platform!" Stella chirped.

"It was like lifting a bowling ball and a cinder-block all in one... " Amber muttered.

"What was that?!" Stella shrieked angrily.

"Nothing, Stel, nothing!" Amber giggled.

"I'm so excited for the battle!" Skyla chirped, "Did you enjoy being a living cannonball?"

"I really wouldn't use the word 'enjoy'..." I said in a slight bitter tone, "But, I am excited to claim the Jet Badge!"

Skyla's first Pokémon was a Swoobat. Although it kind of reminded me of how I missed Marceline a little, I just shook it off and sent Stella to take it on.

"Swoobat, use Acrobatics!" Skyla cried out.

"Dodge it, Stella!" I called.

Stella nimbly averted the deadly gusts of wind coming from Swoobat. I had Stella distract the Swoobat with Tickle, and as the Swoobat was cackling uncontrollably, I took the advantage to strike.

"Alright, Stella!" I shouted, "Finish it with Echoed Voice!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Skyla thought.

Despite its eyes being closed shut with leftover fur oil, Swoobat followed where the missed Echoed Voice had come from, and attacked Stella with Acrobatics. However, I noticed a bit of her fur coming off from the sharpness of the attack.

"Bat Echolocation for the win!" Skyla chirped.

"You shouldn't have done that, Skyla..." I warned.

"Why not?" Skyla asked.

"You see, Stella's a bit of a beauty perfectionist, and... let's just say she doesn't like bad haircuts..." I explained very smugly.

Stella shakily got up, and felt one of her large white head fur tufts. Gasping, she turned around with a look of absolute fury.

"You... ruined... my... **FUR**!" Stella screamed in a fit of rage.

Swoobat received the beat down of a lifetime via several Wake-Up Slaps to the body and face.

"Do you know how expensive this coat is?!" Stella shrieked each word after every slap, "Now, it's ruined!"

Tossing Swoobat across the room, Stella began to calm down after her hissy fit, but then broke down in tears.

"My fur!" she sobbed, "It's ruined! I'm so ugly!"

"Calm down, Stel," I said, "It'll grow back!"

"But that's going to take forever!" Stella whined as she threw a paw to her forehead, "My naturally clean and good looks are soiled, you hear me? Soiled!"

"You know what, Stella?" Amber asked, "I'm gonna get back at them for doing this to you!"

"Go get them, Ambs!" Stella cheered, "And may Skyla rue the day she murdered my coiffure!"

As she returned the damaged Swoobat to its Pokéball, Skyla nervously sent out Unfezant to battle.

"Unfezant, use Quick Attack!" Skyla commanded.

In the blink of an eye, Unfezant knocked Amber onto her tiny little feet in a sudden swipe. Rubbing her backside, Amber quickly shot herself back into the air.

"Amber, attack with Shock Wave!" I cried out.

Amber released a wave of electric energy at Unfezant, critically damaging it. As it weakly stood up, it used Air Slash to hit Amber, and even make her flinch for a bit.

"Come on, Amber!" Stella cheered as she sprayed her own wounds with a Super Potion as if it were some fancy perfume, "You can do it!"

"I can do it!" Amber repeated as she sprayed herself with a Super Potion.

"Finish with Spark!" I cried.

Amber tackled Unfezant in a bolt of lightning, making her opponent faint instantly.

"You're not a bad trainer, Hynden!" Skyla remarked.

"Thanks!" I replied, "And I'm ready for your last Pokémon!"

"Okay then," Skyla chirped, "Swanna, take off!"

I decided to send both Amber and Stella out to the battlefield as part of our plan. Although, Stella was still sulking about her uneven locks, so Amber promised to make it even once the Jet Badge was ours.

"Since you've made it this far, I'm going to play a little 'last stand' music to lighten the mood!" Skyla exclaimed.

With a snap of her fingers, catchy, upbeat music starting to blast from the speakers. The song itself sounded a little familiar, so I unconsciously started tapping my foot to the quick and jagged beats.

_Fly away now, Fly away... FLY AWAY!_

_Fly away now, Fly away... FLY AWAY!_

"This song is one of my favorites!" Skyla remarked, "It's even got a cool title!"

_Heart stood still when we first met_

_I thought we'd be together yet_

_You're using me for your own games_

_But now I'll never feel the same_

"Swanna, attack them both with Bubblebeam!" Skyla cried out.

Jets of bubbles shot out and slightly damaged Amber and Stella. As they shook themselves dry, both girls looked at each other and smirked.

"Is that all you got, goose?!" Amber taunted, "Stella, let's get 'em!"

"Yes, let's!" Stella agreed.

Amber then began to charge a super strong and effective Electro Ball in her paws, while Stella's tail began to get itself ready for her special Tail Slap attack.

_You'll never find a better time_

_Make a sound, you'll be fine_

_You know the game and all it holds_

_Watch it now as it unfolds_

"Oh white swan trained under the guidance of Skyla," Amber and Stella said in harmonic unison as if to the beat of the music, "Receive defeat from the hands of this mighty duo; Stripped of thy yearned for victory; We will claim the Jet Badge! Now, concede defeat!"

_Fly away now, fly away now, FLY AWAY!_

_Fly away now, fly away now, FLY AWAY!_

Grinning, Amber released her critical Electro Ball into Swanna, leaving it harshly damaged. Stella bravely attacked by unleashing her also critical Tail Slap attack, making Swanna faint with quite a few lash marks on its feathers just as the song had finished.

_FLY AWAY!_

"...Wow," Skyla breathed, "That was some battle! As a reward for beating me, I give you the Jet Badge!"

Skyla tossed the badge into the air, and it clicked right into the correct slot of my open Badge Case. Once I sprayed my Pokémon with a few Super Potions and congratulated on a job well done, I thanked Skyla for an equally fun battle.

"You know," Skyla added, "I like to watch the show that the song was from with my girl Elesa sometimes!"

"You know Elesa?" I asked.

"Of course! We're like, best friends!"

Before I could leave the Gym, Skyla stopped me for a little bit.

"By the way," Skyla added, "When I was flying in my plane, I saw some bad guys over at Twist Mountain!"

"Bad guys?!" I gasped, "You mean Team Plasma!"

"Yeah! If you wanna stop them, then just go east from Route 7 and you'll find the path!"

"Will do," I confirmed.

I climbed into the exit cannon, and screamed as I was shot directly outside. Once I landed, I looked down with disdain to discover that I landed on N Harmonia.

"What are you doing here, N?!" I hissed.

"I thought I'd find you here, Hynden," N said, "So, I just came here to... apologize about your Ducklett's unfortunate fate back at the caves."

"Pffft, yeah right," I scoffed.

"Man, you're _really_ cheesed off about this, aren't you?" N asked.

Refusing to respond, N then looked at my equally angry Pokémon.

"I wonder what you're Pokémon have to say to me," N pondered calmly, "Go ahead, little Emolga, say something."

"Go fuck yourself, you green-haired freak!" Amber hissed.

"Yeah, you've murdered one of our teammates, and we're not going to let you hurt Hynden too!" Stella added just as angry.

"My my, that's some language," N remarked surprised, "But still, your Pokémon do seem protective of you, and vice-versa. So, maybe you really are a kindhearted Trainer just like I thought! Oh, if only others were like you, Hynden; that way, I wouldn't have to go find the two stones..."

"What two stones?!" I asked, "What are you planning?!"

"That's right, you're from Johto, so you've never heard of the Light Stone and the Dark Stone. Those two stones contain the spirits of Reshiram and Zekrom respectively, and only a true hero shall awaken them! I'm planning on following Ghetsis' orders of befriending Reshiram, and everyone shall finally obey my ideals!"

"N, no! I've told you before; Ghetsis doesn't have the same intentions as you!"

"Again with the crazy talk!" N sighed, "If my father didn't share my intentions, then why are we working together?"

"You're not! Ghetsis is most likely using you for some other bad reason!"

"Hynden, I know you resent Team Plasma for your Duosion and Tympole's deaths, but there is no need to disgrace my father! My father is a great man!"

"Your father is a swine!" I objected, "When I was in Castelia, he said he was going to summon Reshiram for his own gain! And judging by the way Team Plasma's been wreaking havoc, I'd say it's not good."

"Enough, Hynden," N said sternly, "If you can't see that my father and Team Plasma's intentions are good, then you're clearly blind. You'll never stop us, ever!"

As N ran off in Route 7's direction, I quickly followed after him. However, it suddenly started to rain hard, and I lost sight of him.

"I can't let him get away with this..." I panted, "I've got to stop him!"

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** None.

**Deaths:** None.

**Boxed/Unboxed:** None.

* * *

**Author's Note:** An alternate name for this chapter would be "Amber & Stella with Hynden"! Ever since I battled Skyla in game, I was all like "This is totally gonna be a Panty and Stocking reference in my head". So, stay tuned for Chapter 23!


	23. Race to Twist Mountain!

**Author's Note:** Whoa! Look at that, it's an update (especially a White Nuzlocke update)! Yeah, contrary to what I said on in my recent SS update, I'm actually allowed to go on because it's my Spring Break week. So, without further ado, here's the long sought after Chapter 23 of Ideals of Darkness!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Hynden.

* * *

Dashing through the rain, I suddenly stopped when I heard my Xtransceiver ringing. I answered it to see Mom on the other line.

"Hi, Hynden!" Mom greeted, "How's your journey going so far?"

"G-Great, Mom! How's Johto with Dad?" I hissed through gritted teeth on that last sentence.

"Oh, Hynden..." Mom sighed, "We're so sorry we didn't take you with us, but we didn't want to cut your journey so short!"

"I guess you're right..." I sighed back. "Did you tell Lance I said hi?"

"Yes, I did!" Mom replied, "He said he'd love to see you again someday!"

"By the way, Mom; when I asked you why you had to go to Johto so suddenly, what was the _real_ reason?"

"It's a surprise, but we will tell you that it will come to Driftveil City in about two years!"

"You're not gonna be gone for that long, are you?" I asked.

"Of course not, Hynden!" Mom assured, "We'd never leave our baby behind for two years!"

"Can you put Dad on the other line? I'd like to know how the Battle Castle's own Castle Knight Nico is doing."

Mom then pushed Dad in front of the calling screen. Dad gave me his usual calm but happy smile since he was a bit of a serious man.

"Hi Hynden," Dad greeted, "Are you doing well?"

"Yeah, I am," I replied. "Hey Dad, can _you_ tell me the oh so important thing that made you guys go back to Johto until the end of next month?"

"It's like your mother said," Dad told me, "It's a secret for another two years. What have you been up to since we've left?"

"Well, I have six badges so far," I mentioned, "But... let's just say a few of my Pokémon went down in the line of duty in the process."

"Sweetie... I'm so sorry that happened," Dad said sincerely, "Don't let it get to you too much; your mother encountered the same problem during her journey."

"Thanks Dad; she's already told me that..."

"Erm, Ritsu didn't mention anything _else_ to you about her journey, did she?" Dad asked with a slight tone of worry.

"No... not that I know of," I said, "All she told me was that some of her Pokémon died during her journey, got all eight badges, defeated Lance, and became Champion. Why? Was there anything else she had to tell me?"

"N-Nope! Not at all!" Dad squeaked in a nervous tone, "I was just curious!"

"Hmm..." I pondered, "Okay... I'm on my way to Icirrus City to get my seventh badge!"

"Icirrus City?" Dad asked, "Wait, I feel like there was something I needed to tell you about that—ah! Now I remember!"

"Sorry, Dad! Can't waste time, so goodbye and good luck!"

"Wait, Hynden! In Icirrus, there's—"

Before Dad could get the rest of his message out, I clicked off my Xtransceiver. Just as I was about to climb the steps to the mountain, I was approached by Cheren.

"Ah, Hynden," Cheren said, "You're just the person I wanted to run into."

"Let me guess," I sighed, "You want to battle me again, don't you?"

"Yes I do, but I also want some... advice."

"Advice? What kind of advice?"

"Love advice," Cheren told me as he began to blush. "You see, I've been feeling rather guilty about ignoring Bianca since the whole 'Ferris Wheel Friend-Zone' incident, and I want some tips on how to, erm, 'woo her'?"

"Hmm... well for starters, you could try apologizing for ignoring her?" I suggested with a slightly stern tone. "And... I dunno, just be yourself? After all, Bianca's known you since you two were little kids, so there could be a chance that she might start to like you."

"R-Really?" Cheren chirped with a racing heart, "She could like me back?"

"It's possible," I shrugged. "Anyways, do you wanna battle or what, lover boy?"

"With pleasure," Cheren remarked with a smirk on his face, "Unfezant, come out!"

"Stella, take the stage!" I exclaimed as I tossed my Cinccino's Poké Ball.

When Stella came out, however, she immediately got angry at the very sight of Unfezant (probably from the incident back at Skyla's Gym). She mercilessly gave it an angry beat-down with several Tail Slaps; causing Unfezant to faint right away.

"Sorry about that," I apologized to Cheren, "Something happened to Stella during my fight with Skyla, and she's still pretty miffed about birds."

"Very well then," Cheren sighed, "Liepard, come out and fight!"

I sent out Jackie to quickly take down Liepard. Liepard attacked first with Assurance; leaving a fair amount of damage onto Jackie's sides.

"Jackie, attack with Brick Break!" I cried out.

Jackie's fist glowed bright white as he struck Liepard with a critical hit. Once Cheren called his fainted Pokémon back to its Poké Ball, we were both ready to reach for our next Pokémon. But, said action was interrupted by Alder suddenly jumping down in front of us.

"C-Champion Alder!" Cheren squeaked, startled, "What a surprise!"

"You didn't have to sneak up on us though!" I blurted out.

"Oh sorry," Alder apologized, "I had no intention of interrupting another battle between you two! So, where were you two young lovers headed?"

"We're not lovers!" I objected, "Besides, Cheren already likes—"

"Shh! Don't tell him that!" Cheren told me, "Champion Alder, Hynden and I are simply good friends and nothing more, okay?"

"Okay then..." Alder sighed.

"And, I was on my way to Icirrus City!" I pointed out.

"As was I," Cheren said, "Once I collect my final two badges, I can at last become your successor as Champion and I can finally become a worthy trainer through strength and determination!"

"You sound just like one of my pupils..." Alder thought, "It's nice that you want to be my successor, Cheren, but like I said before: The strength of a Trainer's abilities is only part of being a Champion; what also matters is what you do with said strength. Do you understand, Cheren?"

"Not exactly, sir," Cheren admitted.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out in time," Alder sighed, "I shall see you two again sometime, so I want you to have these Hidden Machines as a parting gift."

Alder handed us both two Hidden Machines that contained the move Surf. Once he left, Cheren decided to continue into the mountain with me following. When we got in, we unexpectedly caught the sight of Clay.

"Clay, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Ah was just inspectin' Twist Mount'n fer any difficulties!" Clay exclaimed. "By the by, have you two been seein' that Team Plasma crowd lately? The other Gym Leaders and ah met up the other day, but we've had no luck findin' 'em."

"Ah! That's right, I am crossing through the mountain to find N!" I blurted, "Apparently, that green-haired freak's planning something with Ghetsis, and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it!"

"That's none a yer concern, Hynden!" Clay objected, "If the Gym Leaders and ah find Team Plasma, we'll be the ones tah handle it! Now, why don't y'all just focus on getting yer next badge or explore the mountain or somethin'?"

"Yes, Clay..." I sighed, "I guess we'll do just that."

"Good. Well, ah'll be seein ya two!"

After Clay left, my burning ambition to track down N was still standing strong. Once I said goodbye to Cheren, I moved forward into the mountain's mines. Since one of the workers was kind enough to give me a fully detailed map of the area, I had a clearer vision on which way I should go. I entered one of the caves; only to be tackled in the gut by a Pokémon. As I was laying flat on my back, my Pokédex was telling me that the new Pokémon was called Cubchoo.

"New friend! New friend!" Cubchoo exclaimed as it jumped up and down on my stomach.

"Oww! Oww!" I shouted, "Hey, can you please stop jumping on my stomach like that?"

"Sorry!" Cubchoo chirped, "I was just sooo excited to meet a new friend! My name's Kagami, and I can tell that you don't live near here because I've never seen you before around these parts!"

"Umm... my name's Hynden, and you're right; I don't live near here..." I said as I sheepishly shook Kagami's paw. "Listen, I've got to get to Icirrus City pronto, so I don't have time to play with you."

Just as I was about to walk away, I noticed Kagami was suddenly on the floor behind me throwing a tantrum like a little kid who's mother didn't buy them candy.

"Please please please play with me, new friend!" Kagami begged loudly.

"I'm sorry, Kagami, but I must go," I insisted.

With every couple steps I took, Kagami kept following me and throwing her tantrum yelling "Play with me, play with me". I tried my best to ignore her and keep walking, but Kagami's childish pleas got louder and more annoying. Eventually, I sighed and told her that she could come along with me so I could play with her.

"Yay yay!" Kagami cheered as I captured her with a Poké Ball.

Much to my relief, Kagami's Pokéball was boxed instantly due to me already having a full team. Following the Twist Mountain map, I took each door that led towards the bottom floor. When I was close to the exit, I was horrified to see Cheren on the ground, clutching his left side in pain in front of a Team Plasma Grunt.

"Cheren!" I exclaimed as I rushed to his side, "Oh Arceus, are you okay?!"

"...Y-Yes... I think so..." Cheren winced as he slowly removed a hand from his bleeding wound, "But... I think it's best that I seek medical attention right away..."

"Hmph, you're pretty strong when it comes to Pokémon battles," the Grunt remarked coldly as he held a bloody dagger, "But, that's only because you're enslaving those poor Pokémon of yours!"

"What the heck is wrong with you?!" I snapped angrily, "Why did you stab my friend?!"

"That little monster deserved it," the Grunt responded, "I tried to convince him to set his Pokémon free, but he just wouldn't listen. So, I had to teach him a lesson the hard way!"

"That's no excuse to nearly kill me..." Cheren coughed annoyed.

"Pffft, big deal. It's not like I even got through to you."

"You're right; you still have yet to convince me that your foolish goals are ideal, " Cheren hissed, still gripping his wound.

Suddenly, another Plasma Grunt came into the cavern with a stern look on her face.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "Don't waste your time with these brats; Lord N has finally found the coveted Light Stone!"

"Really?! That's amazing!" the other Grunt exclaimed.

"Light Stone?!" I thought, "No, it can't be!"

"Well, now if you two brats will excuse us; we've got an epic white dragon spirit to awaken!" both Grunts gloated as they ran out of the cave.

I was about to chase after them when Cheren began to cough up blood. Not wanting to leave Cheren to die, I threw his arms in front of my chest and carried him into the small city of Icirrus. I rushed him to the Icirrus General Hospital, where he was treated immediately. As I saw him laying in the hospital bed hooked up to a ventilator, I couldn't help but feel incredibly worried about my friend's welfare.

"Don't worry, Hynden," the doctor assured me, "Your friend will be just fine. Luckily, you got him here sooner; otherwise it would have probably been too late."

"T-Thanks..." I sighed as I looked at Cheren.

"H-Hynden..." Cheren whispered, "I'm fine; they've fixed my wound and treated it, so I'll be fine."

"I believe you, Cheren," I said, smiling, "After all, you're one of the strongest people I've met."

"I dunno; I've met much stronger people..." Cheren replied.

Still smiling, I left the hospital and hurried into the Pokémon Center to switch Amber and Stella for just Sophia. Once my Darumaka was in the party, I hurried into the Icirrus City Gym in hopes of getting my seventh badge.

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** Kagami the Cubchoo, Female, Jolly nature, Quick tempered.

**Deaths:** None.

**Boxed/Unboxed:** Amber the Emolga, Stella the Cinccino, Kagami the Cubchoo (Boxed), Sophia the Darumaka (Unboxed).

* * *

**Author's Note:** When I was writing Kagami's tantrum scene, I was thinking of that part from a show called Nichijou where Hakase kept throwing a fit because Nano wouldn't get her something (eventually, the former got her wish). And, I was originally going to kill off one of Cheren's Pokémon here, but it didn't seem to fit in with the future battles, so I just had him get injured instead. BTW, if you're wondering about the crucial thing Nico was warning Hynden about in Icirrus, you'll see very soon! Anyways, stay tuned for Chapter 24!


	24. Ice Ice, Baby! (VS Brycen)

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! I'm sorry for the long delay, but I got Writer's Block (again) and Tumblr kept distracting me (along with me getting into Dangan Ronpa). But, another reason is because I was waiting to copy all of my fanfics onto a disc drive and upload it all onto my new laptop (I named it Lily)! Also, Tides of the Soul might be a little while to update for miscellaneous reasons... But, here's the moment you've all been waiting for: Chapter 24 (the Brycen battle, and a little bit into Hynden's paternal ancestry)! Enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Pokémon, but I do own Hynden.

* * *

The inside of the Gym was freezing cold (which made sense since it was an Ice-type Gym), so I put my winter coat on before sliding forward across the ice. A strange wooden block made me spin uncontrollably until I had reached solid non-icy ground. After about an hour of ice sliding, pressing red switches, and spinning from wooden blocks, I finally made it to the solid ground below Brycen's battle platform.

"Ah yes, welcome to the Icirrus City Gym, young one," Brycen greeted, "Are you ready to try and claim the Freeze Badge?"

"Always!" I exclaimed in my usual bold tone, "Piko and Sophia, come on out!"

"Two Pokémon at once? Very well; Cryogonal and Vanillish, come out!" Bryce shouted.

I commanded Piko to use Flame Charge, which critically injured the Vanillish. Vanillish then attacked with Frost Breath, causing Piko to shiver briefly before melting the frost off of his skin.

"Sophia, finish Vanillish with Fire Punch!" I cried out.

"Vanillish, use Acid Armor!" Brycen exclaimed.

Before Sophia's ignited fist could hit its mark, Vanillish seemingly disappeared into thin air. Suddenly, she was struck with a sudden Astonish attack, causing her to jump in surprise.

"What the heck was that?!" Sophia yelped, "Boy, where are ya?! Show yo-self so I can give y'all a wallop!"

"Vanillish, attack with Mirror Shot while Darumaka's distracted!" Brycen called out.

When Vanillish reappeared, it released a shot of glowing energy. The force of the attack left a large crack in the ice and sent Sophia flying backwards.

"Stupid Steel-type attacks..." I muttered, "Piko, finish Vanillish off with another Flame Charge!"

Piko began to rapidly stomp his feet until they ignited with flames, and brutally knocked out Vanillish. Unbeknownst to him, however, Cryogonal was beginning to charge an Aurora Beam from behind.

"Piko, behind you!" I cried.

Suddenly, Sophia leaped up, charged through the Aurora Beam unscathed with Fire Punch, and KO'd Cryogonal.

"Nobody attacks mah man!" Sophia growled. "You alright, Piko?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Piko said as his face began to turn pink, "T-Thanks for saving me, Soph."

"Anytime, baby!" Sophia chirped.

"The strength of your Pokémon is quite impressive, Hynden," Brycen remarked as he returned his fainted Pokémon to their Poké Balls, "Beartic, it's showtime!"

Brycen then commanded Beartic to use Brine on both Piko and Sophia. Dripping wet, Piko attacked with Flame Charge, but managed to miss.

"Hold on guys, I've got an idea," I whispered to them. "Piko, you're going to throw Sophia, who's going to use that new Flare Blitz attack before she hits Beartic."

"Sounds like a plan to us!" Piko and Sophia agreed.

"Beartic, attack with Icicle Crash!" Brycen cried out.

"Alright guys, now!" I yelled.

Piko harshly tossed Sophia forward. The crashing icicles were vaporized by Sophia igniting as she picked up speed. Once she slammed into Beartic, it crashed to the ground unconscious.

"Amazing!" Brycen exclaimed, "The very combination of you and your Pokémon has spawned a beautiful friendship. As a reward for defeating me, I present you with the Freeze Badge!"

Once I placed the Freeze Badge inside of my Badge Case, I cheerfully high-fived Piko and Sophia for a job well done. Suddenly, both Pokémon were engulfed in a swirl of mystic flames that spread across the entire Gym. They simultaneously began to grow into bigger and bulkier forms. After the flames went out, my Pokédex told me that Piko and Sophia were now an Emboar and Darmanitan. However, my excitement died down because the evolution flames had set the Gym ablaze.

"Hynden, we must get out of here and fast!" Brycen exclaimed. "Follow me; the nearest exit is this way!"

As soon as Piko and Sophia were back in their Poké Balls, I quickly followed Brycen towards the emergency exit. But, just as we were about to reach it, Brycen and I were separated when a large block of burning wood fell in front of us.

"Hynden!" I could faintly hear Brycen from the other side.

"I'll be fine!" I coughed, "Just get out of here and fast!"

I frantically tried to run to the Gym entrance to try and escape, but the lack of oxygen made me grow weaker and weaker. Just as I caught a glimpse of the entrance, I suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"I've gotta... get out of... here..." I said faintly as everything went dark.

* * *

When I came to, I found myself in the arms of one of the Shadow Triad member with blue eyes. My eyes widened with shock as I noticed that the other two members were with him.

"Ah! You've finally awaken, my love!" Corn chirped.

"What the hell?!" I shrieked as I jumped from his arms, "Why are you guys here?!"

"Now, is that any way to treat the three who just saved you from burning alive?" Pod stated crossly.

"Hynden, are you alright?!" I heard as I saw Bianca and Brycen run towards me with Cheren (who's midsection was carefully bandaged).

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine guys," I coughed.

"Who are you three?!" Brycen exclaimed.

"We are known as the Shadow Triad," Dent explained, "We are the loyal spies of Team Plasma."

"Team Plasma?!" Cheren barked, "Then you must be up to no good!"

"You'd better stay away from our friend if you know what's good for you!" Bianca shrieked.

"Hmph, if it weren't for us, your friend would have surely died in that fire," Corn remarked, "If anything, you should be thanking us for saving this lovely maiden."

"While I'm grateful for being saved, you Plasma jerks are still the enemy!" I hissed.

"Understandable I suppose," Pod said.

"Until we meet again, farewell!" Dent exclaimed as all three of them teleported away.

"What is with those Plasma jerks?" I mumbled.

Suddenly, I noticed a note was taped to my cap. The note read "Hynden, Lord N is waiting for you at Dragonspiral Tower located directly north of the city. **COME ALONE.** —The Shadow Triad."

"What does the note say, Hynden?" Brycen asked.

"It says I need to go to a place called Dragonspiral Tower," I explained, "N Harmonia is waiting for me there."

"We'll come with you!" Cheren exclaimed.

"No, Cheren," I said sternly, "The note said for me to come alone. Besides, you're in no condition to fight with that stab wound. Bianca, stay by Cheren's side to make sure nothing bad happens, okay?"

"Okay!" Bianca confirmed as he hugged Cheren (which made his entire face turn red).

As I ran to the direction of the tower, I accidentally bumped into a young woman carrying a bag of groceries.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Miss!" I apologized.

"There's no need to be sorry," she insisted, "I'm sure you were in a hurry."

After I helped her gather her food into the bag, I noticed she was struggling to life the heavy bag up. Feeling a little bad for knocking her down, I decided to help her carry her groceries back to her house on a nearby cliff. Once we went up the elevator to the front door, the woman was greeted by a young man and a little boy.

"Eric, I'm home!" the woman said.

"Welcome back, Jolie!" her husband greeted.

"Hi, Mommy!" said the little boy who appeared to be her son, "Who's that girl with you?"

"This is Hynden, Robert," Jolie explained, "I ran into her, and she was nice enough to help me with the groceries."

"It's nice to meet you," I said, shaking Eric and Robert's hands.

"It's nice to meet you as well—wait!" Eric gasped as he looked directly at me, "T-Those eyes! It can't be!"

"Is something wrong, sir?" I asked confused.

"Hynden, you're not... Giovanni's granddaughter, are you?" Eric asked me.

"Who's... Giovanni? Besides, I don't know my grandfather; my dad told me he died when I was a baby."

"Not possible; he couldn't have died..." Eric thought, "Wait, did you say your father? He isn't... Frontier Brain Nico of Johto's own Battle Castle, is it?"

"Yes, he actually is!" I exclaimed, "Why do you ask?"

"...Please follow me..." Eric said distantly.

Eric guided me down the hallway to a bolted metal door. He placed his palm on a certain switch, causing the door to open and reveal a soundproof room. The inside of the room was full of strange black plaques with a large red capital 'R', messages that said things like "Long Live Team Rocket", a couple of newspaper articles that read about this "Team Rocket". In the dead center of the room was a strange black uniform and hat donning the red 'R' in the middle of the shirt.

"E-Eric, what is this room?" I asked, "And who are these 'Team Rocket' people?"

"Long ago," Eric started, "I was a member of a notorious 'villain' gang called Team Rocket. Some say we were similar to Team Plasma, but that's barely even true; we were pretty straight forward with out plans, while those Plasma ruffians just live in a state of delusion. Anyways, our focus was always stealing and selling rare Pokémon, even if they already had Trainers of their own."

"W-What?! That's horrible!" I shrieked, "How could a kind man like yourself be involved with people like that?!"

"I know, I know," Eric sighed guiltily, "But luckily, we disbanded 24 or so years ago because our four Head Executives and main boss were defeated by a thirteen year old girl by the name of... what was it again? Oh, now I remember! Her name was Ritsu. Here, this is a newspaper article in the old Mahogany Daily about her."

My heart jumped in surprise as I noticed the picture of a 13-year old version of Mom in her white hat with a red ribbon tied around it, short blue overalls over her red long sleeved shirt, white stockings with a black rim at the top, and her large red sneakers. She had her usual cheery smile as she stood waving beside her Pokémon team.

"Hey!" I practically screamed, "That's my mom!"

"What?! Champion Ritsu is your mother?! ...Wow, it's so ironic how our own young Rocket heir Nico married the very girl who had caused our demise."

"Rocket heir? What are you talking about? My dad isn't the heir of any evil team!"

"On the contrary, Hynden. You see, you're father probably didn't tell you the truth about your grandfather because of his association with Team Rocket."

"M-My grandfather was associated with Team Rocket?!" I squeaked, "H-How so?"

"...Hynden, your father is the son of Team Rocket's former leader Giovanni; which would make you his only grandchild."

My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at hearing this news. I couldn't believe that I was the descendant of a man who had been in charge of an evil Pokémon team. One part of me was denying it all, but the other was still trying to accept it.

"It can't be true... i-it just can't be!" I cried as my eyes flashed with anger, "You'd better be pulling my leg or something!"

"I'm sorry, Hynden," Eric said sincerely, "But I'm afraid it's the whole truth; you are the granddaughter of the cunning and notorious Giovanni. Look, you've even got the same sinister-looking gray eyes as him and your father!"

"I... I've gotta go now," I breathed, still completely shocked.

I quickly bolted out of the house as fast as I could and sat on a nearby bench. As I panted heavily, hundreds of thoughts and questions were swirling in my mind all at once: like "Why did Mom and Dad lie to me all of these years?", and "I can't believe that I have evil paternal ancestors!". But, the biggest, most terrifying thought of all had to be: "Am I going to turn out evil like my grandfather?"

"This can't be happening," I gasped, "This really can't be happening..."

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** None.

**Deaths:** None.

**Boxed/Unboxed:** None.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I kind of had no choice on the whole "Evil Rocket ancestry" thing since the rival in SoulSilver (or HeartGold) is the son of Giovanni (and on a side note, the grandson of Madame Boss), and I didn't want to change that. Besides, I think the despair of wanting to become the Champion but being afraid of becoming evil like your ancestor(s) is quite exciting in the story (I sound like Monobear...)! So with that, stay tuned for Chapter 25!


	25. Dragon-Spiraling into Despair!

**Author's Note:** (I'm not even sorry for the chapter title) Hey guys! Sorry for the short delay, but I had finals last week! That means I'm now on summer vacation, so I might have more time to update if I can! So without further ado, here's Chapter 25!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon, but I do own Hynden.

* * *

Although I was still shocked from the revelation about my grandfather, I decided to confront the very guy who had started the whole lie in the first place. I quickly turned on my Xtransceiver and dialed up my dad. When his face appeared on the screen, he jumped a bit in surprise when he saw the anger and hurt on my face.

"Hynden, what's wrong?" Dad asked.

"Don't 'Hynden, what's wrong' me, Dad!" I snapped, "I know yours and Mom's little secret!"

"S-Secret?" Dad squeaked, "What secret?"

"You know what secret I'm talking about," I said, calming down a little, "The secret about Giovanni, aka, my grandfather."

Dad's eyes widened as I said that name. Although he tended to be a little on the serious side, I could tell by the way he nervously gritted his teeth a bit and the bead of sweat on the side of his head that I had him pegged.

"H-How do you know that name?!" Dad gasped as his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"I met a kind man and his family after I helped his wife with her groceries. He basically said that my eyes looked familiar and told me all about his days as a member of some evil group of people called 'Team Rocket'. Then, I told him that my dad is the Frontier Brain of the Battle Castle in Johto, and he told me something about you being the 'heir and son of Team Rocket's notorious ex-leader Giovanni'. Dad, how could you and Mom lie to me about something like this?!"

"...We didn't want to make you worry about having someone like him as a grandfather," Dad told me with a tone of bitterness, "Your mother and I know how much you look up to both of us; so we thought that if we never told you about Team Rocket period, you wouldn't think I was evil too."

"That's not even close to a good reason to lie to your own daughter like that!" I yelled.

"It was for your own good!" Dad snapped.

"Tch, my own good?" I scoffed. "You know Dad, if you're the type of parent who would selfishly lie to their own child, then that not only makes you evil, but it also makes you weak-willed and a coward!"

At the second I said those words, Dad flashed an outraged (yet slightly hurt) face at me.

"You... you have absolutely no right to speak to me like that, young lady!" Dad yelled, "I'm your father and you need to learn proper respect!"

"How the heck could I ever respect such a pathetic liar of a man like yourself?! In fact, I don't ever want to become like someone who distrusts their kid enough to lie to them!"

Without even waiting for a response from Dad, I angrily shut off my Xtransceiver in a huff. I know it was wrong to yell at Dad like that, but I also knew that it was wrong that he lied to me. Remembering my mission to infiltrate Dragonspiral Tower, I went to the Pokémon Center to heal my team and withdraw Ruffle and Kagami (since I knew I'd never hear the end of it from her if I didn't spend time with her), and box Sophia so I could leave. When I got near the entrance, I saw Professor Juniper Sr. there.

"Hynden! It's nice to see you again!" Cedric chirped in a jolly tone.

"It's nice to see you too, Professor," I replied, "So, what are you doi-"

"Hynden, Hynden!" I heard Bianca cry as she came running towards me.

"What's wrong, Bianca?" I asked, "And where's Cheren?!"

"That's what I've come to tell you!" Bianca panted, "He's gone!"

"What?! Do you know where he went?!"

"Knowing him, he probably followed Brycen into Dragonspiral Tower to fight Team Plasma. Hynden, you've got to go in there and stop him!"

"Got it! Professor, you stay here with Bianca while I go get Cheren, okay?"

"Roger!" Cedric confirmed.

I pressed my motorbike's activation button that made it grow to normal size outside of my bag. Once I put on my helmet, I kept driving through the inside of the tower until I felt a huge rumbling.

"What's the hell was that?!" I said, "Is there something going on at the top of the tower?!"

When I managed to drive up the thin staircase, I quickly gripped the brake handle before I could crash into a fallen column. Just as I was about to withdraw my motorbike, I heard a violent grunt from across the room. My eyes widened as I saw Cheren, who was struggling to get up and coughing a bit of blood into his palm.

"Cheren!" I cried, "I finally found you! Why did you come here in your condition; I told you to stay with Bianca!"

"I wasn't just going to sit by and let you take Team Plasma alone, Hynden," Cheren grunted. "Besides, I'm totally healthy enough to fight!"

Despite his words however, Cheren knelt to the ground as he coughed up more blood into his palm. I carefully climbed the columns to Cheren's area and helped him up.

"Cheren, please," I pleaded, "If you were to try and help me in your condition, you'd die! You have to go back to the hospital!"

"ACK-ACK No, Hynden!" Cheren insisted stubbornly as more blood seeped from his mouth, "I'm going to take on Team Plasma and that's final! Trust me... I'm... fine..."

Cheren's navy eyes then grew dull and rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed in my arms. Panicking, I called Ruffle out to fly Cheren back to the Icirrus General Hospital as fast as he could. Once Ruffle took Cheren away, I summoned my motorbike once again and rode up to the next floor where I drove off of several ramps to get to the other side of the room.

"Okay, that was pretty cool!" I remarked as I drove up the stairs.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I saw Brycen and his Pokémon fighting off several Plasma Grunts.

"Need a hand, Brycen?" I asked.

"Don't worry, Hynden," Brycen insisted, "I've got everything covered! You just focus on getting to N at the top of the tower and fast!"

"Got it!" I said as I began to rev my bike up again.

Not even close to reaching the steps to the next floor, I was stopped by two Plasma Grunts.

"Not so fast, runt-girl!" one of them exclaimed, "Anyone who tries to interfere with Team Plasma must be eliminated!"

While one of the Grunts sent out their Liepard, the other called forth their Watchog. Seeing this as an easy battle, I decided to send out Piko and Kagami.

"Piko, use Arm Thrust on Liepard!" I cried.

Piko repeatedly jammed his hands into Liepard until it collapsed to the ground unconscious. Kagami was looking determined and excited, but had no idea what to do. Suddenly, the Watchog charged at her with Hyper Fang.

"Kagami, dodge Watchog's attack and use Icy Wind!" I cried.

As soon as she heard my command, Kagami quickly rolled out of the way of Watchog's bite and released a freezing current of ice and snow from her mouth.

"Watchog, attack with Super Fang this time!" the Plasma Grunt exclaimed.

"Kagami, dodge and attack with Fury Swipes!" I commanded.

When Kagami thrust herself backwards, Watchog accidentally managed to take a bite out of her large drip of icy mucus. As Watchog spit out the drip and wiped its tongue off in disgust, Kagami left it critically weaker with her Fury Swipes attack.

"Alright Kagami, finish with Icy Wind!" I cried out.

Unfortunately, all Kagami could manage to produce was a small breeze of cold air rather than a burly Icy Wind attack.

"Gah! Kagami, what's wrong with your attack?!" I shrieked.

"M-My ice mucus!" Kagami exclaimed, "It's the source of a Cubchoo's Ice power!"

"Hmph, what's wrong, Ice Princess?" Watchog taunted, "Can't use your little powers? Well lucky for you, I can!"

Watchog attacked with another Hyper Fang. Kagami jumped backwards again, but her opponent's tooth managed to scratch her tiny body. With a slightly bleeding cut in her side, Kagami managed to defeat Watchog with a Brine attack.

"Are you okay, Kagami?" I said as I sprayed her wound with a Super Potion.

"Yeah, I think so," Kagami said, "But... it's too bad about my ice mu- mu- ACHOO!"

Much to her delight, Kagami's large ice mucus came bouncing out of her nose. Once she tested out a successful and powerful Icy Wind, she jumped for joy at her newly-returned Ice-type attacks.

"Alright, Kagami," I said, "Let's go kick some Plasma ass!"

Shrinking my motorbike and putting it in my bag along with my helmet, I ran further through the tower; flawlessly defeating each Plasma Grunt I encountered. After defeating one female Grunt with a Scraggy and a Watchog, I climbed the steps to the fifth floor. However, several walls obstructed my view of the next staircase, so I had to take many pathways around until I finally found my destination. Upon reaching the next floor, I jumped as I heard a loud roar and a familiar voice.

"Awaken, my friend, awaken!" the voice shouted.

"That sounds like N!" I exclaimed, "I've gotta get to the top of the tower before something terrible happens!"

Just as I was running ahead, I stopped as I saw a quartet of Plasma Grunts and Giallo (one of the sages).

"Our moment of triumph has come!" Giallo announced, "Lord N has finally awakened the spirit of Reshiram, and now he will be the new Hero of Truth!"

"No!" I accidentally shouted.

"An intruder!" Giallo gasped, "But it's not just any intruder; it's the girl who keeps meddling with our affairs! Plasma Grunts, seize her at once!"

All four Grunts surrounded me with their Pokémon teams (which consisted of two Watchogs, two Krokoroks, a Trubbish, and a Liepard). Not feeling the least bit of scared, I sent out Piko, Kagami, and Bianca to fight. Piko quickly took down the two Watchogs with Arm Thrust, and Bianca KO'd the Krokoroks with Energy Ball.

"Alright Kagami, you ready?" I asked.

"I was born ready, Hynden!" Kagami exclaimed.

"Use Brine on Trubbish!" I commanded.

Kagami opened her mouth wide and sneezed out a powerful torrent of water at Trubbish, knocking it into Liepard as well.

"Liepard, use Slash and Trubbish, attack with Sludge Bomb!" the female Grunt exclaimed.

"Kagami, attack with Icy Wind!" I shouted.

Kagami released a cold blast of wind at both of her opponents. However, despite being hit, Liepard managed to slash Kagami's chest with its claws, reopening her earlier cut and making it larger than before.

"K-Kagami!" I shrieked, "You've gotta get out of there!"

But before Kagami even had a chance to escape, Trubbish managed to strike her down with its Sludge Bomb attack. I rushed to go help my wounded Cubchoo, but before I could, Liepard brutally attacked Kagami with another Slash attack, making blood fly everywhere.

"No!" I screamed as I tearfully rushed to Kagami's side. "Kagami, please please be okay!"

When I held Kagami's body in my arms, tears escaped from my eyes as I couldn't feel a pulse or hear her breathing. After Piko and Bianca finished off the Trubbish and Liepard, they immediately came to my side trying to comfort me. I simply told them that I was going to keep to my word as always and not let a teammate's death slow me down. Wiping my tears, I returned Piko and Bianca to their Poké Balls and ascended to the next floor with Kagami's lifeless body in my arms. But, what I saw upon climbing the stairs truly shocked me:

My eyes grew wide with a strange combination of terror and amazement as I saw the room was nearly engulfed in flames and in the middle of it was N standing in front of a ghostly version of a large and mystical white Dragon-type Pokémon with glaring blue eyes.

"Holy Arceus," I breathed, "He's actually summoned Reshiram?!"

Hearing my outburst, N slowly turned around to face me. However, he looked a bit different. His eyeballs were glowing with the same blue aura as Reshiram's and he was surrounded by a faint white aura. I also noticed that Reshiram's spirit was attached to N's feet as if it were his own white shadow.

"Well, Hynden?" N said to me in a slightly distorted voice, "Aren't you amazed at what I can accomplish? My dearest friend Reshiram has acknowledged me as the new Hero of Truths, and together, we shall take on Alder!"

"N, stop this!" I exclaimed, "If your plan gets too out of hand, you'll end up destroying the world Pokémon and all!"

"Heh, silly Hynden," N chuckled, "My plan will never get 'out of hand' as you put it. You see, with Reshiram's spirit at my side, I will rid the world of those who wish to hurt Pokémon. You know, people like you!"

"Me?! I thought you said I was trustworthy!"

"I did... that is until my Shadow Triad came to me telling me of your ancestor, Giovanni, the ex-leader of Team Rocket. They told me that your father Castle Knight Nico is his one and only child. And anyone who has any ties to tyrants like Team Rocket is absolutely untrustworthy!"

"I may not care about anything that has to do with the liar I call my father at the moment, but me being Giovanni's granddaughter doesn't mean I'm evil too!"

"Oh really?" N scoffed as he gestured towards Kagami's corpse in my arms, "If you're not evil as you claim, then how come your innocent little Cubchoo died in your so-called 'care'?"

"Kagami's death wasn't my fault!" I objected, "It was your stupid Plasma collegues that took her life away from her!"

"Hmph, you're even so selfish and irresponsible that you would even blame my comrades! Hynden, no matter what you say, Kagami's death will always be your fault! Maybe if you weren't such a careless excuse of a Trainer, your other Pokémon would still be alive along with her! But you know what? I expect nothing less from Giovanni's precious descendant! Face it, Hynden; you were born a monster."

N's harsh words pierced every bit of my heart. I kept chanting in my head over and over that I wasn't a monster and that everyone's deaths weren't because of me, but my heritage ended up destroying said hope. Defeated, I slumped to the ground with a grim stare to the floor.

"No... no... I'm not a monster..." I whispered.

"Hmm, it is quite a shame that your own ideals of being flawlessly strong overcloud the truth, isn't it?" N asked coldly, "But, I'll tell you what; If you are good like you say, Zekrom's spirit will reawaken and recognize you as the new Heroine of Ideals."

"Zekrom?" I asked.

"Reshiram's counterpart that represents Ideals. If you want to redeem yourself, you must retrieve the Dark Stone and face me at the Pokémon League. So make that your next mission other than obtaining the Legend Badge. Farewell!"

N then flew away on Reshiram's surprisingly solid spirit out the gaping hole in the wall. I tried to chase after him, but a large piece of the floor collapsed underneath me. I screamed as I plummeted through the air, but as if on cue, I was caught by Ruffle.

"Are you alright, Hynden?" Ruffle asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, "Let's go back down to Icirrus to see the others!"

When we reached the ground, I saw Brycen beside Professor Juniper Sr., and Cheren being wheeled in a wheelchair by Bianca.

"Hynden, you're safe!" Bianca exclaimed, "We saw you falling from the tower until your Tranquil caught you in a swoop!"

"What happened up there?" Cheren asked.

"...N has reawakened Reshiram's spirit," I sighed with a grim look on my face, "He told me that if I want to stop him, I have to find some kind of Dark Stone and reawaken the spirit of Zekrom."

"Zekrom?" Bianca asked, "Is that another Legendary Dragon?"

"Why yes, it is," a voice said.

We all turned around to see Alder approaching us.

"Ah, if it isn't Champion Alder!" Cedric greeted, "How are you today?"

"There is no time for casual greetings, Cedric!" Alder exclaimed, "What's more important is that Reshiram's spirit has been resurrected and is in the hands of Team Plasma's king! If they use it for their own gain, it could mean the world will be plunged into utter discord and destruction!"  
"And along with that, N has said to look for the spirit of Zekrom as well!" Brycen exclaimed.

"If they both fall into Team Plasma's hands, then the legend will happen all over again!" Alder shouted. "I must go to Relic Castle, in case the Dark Stone is there!"

Once Alder flew away on his Volcarona, I decided to follow him and began to climb on top of Ruffle. Before Ruffle could even spread his wings, Bianca put a hand on his back.

"Are you going to help Alder, Hynden?" Bianca asked.

"I have to, Bi," I insisted in a calm, but determined tone, "If I get the Dark Stone before N does, I could stop him."

"I have the utmost faith in you, Hynden, but this is a dangerous mission," Bianca said.

"I know that. But to me, being a trainer is about being brave and not letting anything stop you from accomplishing your dreams! Bianca, I have to be the one to stop N."

"...Okay, good luck Hynden!"

"Thanks, Bianca! Oh, and before I leave, make sure Cheren doesn't try to follow me, okay?"

"Okay!"

Once Ruffle took to the skies once more, I looked down at Kagami's body and felt a huge mental sting of guilt and shame in my heart. But, I quickly suppressed it as I reached the secret entrance to the buried Relic Castle. Seeing this as a good place to put Kagami to rest, I buried her near the stone border and descended into the caverns below.

* * *

**Pokémon obtained:** None.

**Deaths:** Kagami the Cubchoo, Lvl. 28-30

**Boxed/Unboxed:** Sophia the Darmanitan (Boxed)

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm actually finishing up the next chapter as I'm typing this, so stay tuned for it!


End file.
